Evidence used by a U.S. think tank to declare that China's policies in Xinjiang constitute a genocide is not strong enough to risk creating a confrontation between America and China, the director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research (TFF) has told CGTN.

Speaking in an interview from his office in Lund, Sweden, Jan Oberg said his group had analyzed the work used to justify the assertion by the influential Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington. The researchers failed to provide sufficient proof of a genocide and did not properly disclose their ties to the U.S. state, he said.

"We are not disputing anything. We're just saying this documentation is not convincing. It's not valid. It's not reliable. It's not good research," Oberg said. "We think it's awful if these types of reports are being used for a new Cold War between America/NATO and China."

In the aftermath of the Newlines Institute report, the U.S. and its allies introduced sanctions against several Chinese officials and organizations. China vigorously denied the claims and responded with sanctions against those it said had been responsible for spreading misinformation.

"It's very important to check if you accuse a country of genocide, that the documentation is rock solid," Oberg said.

The TFF describes itself as an independent think tank that aims to bring about peace by peaceful means. Oberg stressed that his organization had not been to Xinjiang but was basing its conclusions on analysis of the same sources and information cited in the Newlines Institute report.

On its website, the Newlines Institute says it is a non-partisan think tank with a goal of enhancing U.S. foreign policy.