A spokesperson for Chinese automaker BYD has objected to reports about poor conditions at a construction site in Brazil where it is building a factory, saying the allegations were aimed at “smearing” China and Chinese brands.

A contractor for Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD on Thursday denied claims that Chinese nationals were working in “slavery-like conditions” at a construction site for the carmaker’s factory in Brazil.

BYD's contractor Jinjiang Group on Thursday said that the Brazilian authority’s portrayal of its employees working at the Chinese EV giant’s factory in Brazil as “enslaved” is “completely inconsistent with facts.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Chinese workers found at a construction site for a factory owned by China's electric vehicle producer BYD in Brazil's Bahia state are victims of human trafficking, Brazilian labor authorities said on Thursday.

Brazil has stopped issuing temporary work visas for BYD, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, in the wake of accusations that some workers at a site owned by the Chinese electric vehicle producer had been victims of human trafficking.

Authorities in Brazil said Friday they are probing Chinese auto giant BYD and one of its contractors for suspected "trafficking" of Chinese workers building a factory in the South American country. Federal prosecutors in Brazil are weighing possible criminal action after labor inspectors