BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD (SZ:)’s contractor Jinjiang Group stated on Thursday that the Brazilian authorities’ portrayal of their employees as enslaved is completely inconsistent with the facts.

“Being unjustly labeled as ‘enslaved’ has made our employees feel that their dignity has been insulted and their human rights violated, seriously hurting the dignity of the Chinese people. We have signed a joint letter to express our true feelings,” Jinjiang said in its official Weibo (NASDAQ:) account.

Brazilian authorities earlier said they found 163 Chinese nationals working in “slavery-like conditions” at a construction site for a BYD-owned factory.