On Thursday, United States (US) President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that aims to punish the Chinese government for its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, particularly the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
The Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act received its final Congressional passage last week with overwhelming support from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. It imposes a blanket ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region and demands companies to provide “clear and convincing evidence” against the use of forced labour in their supply chain. The law designates goods such as cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon, a solar-energy component, under “high priority” due to their strong association with forced labour in Xinjiang.
Today, I signed the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The United States will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure supply chains are free from the use of forced labor — including from Xinjiang and other parts of China. pic.twitter.com/kd4fk2CvmJ
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 23, 2021
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the legislation’s co-sponsors, called the act crucial in holding the Chinese government accountable. He said, “This law should also ensure that Americans no longer unknowingly buy goods made by slaves in China.”
Meanwhile, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson from China’s embassy in Washington, told Reuters: “This is a severe violation of international law and norms of international relations, and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.” Similarly, China’s Foreign Ministry condemned the law in a statement, accusing the US of “maliciously denigrating” the subject of human rights and of engaging in “political manipulation and economic coercion” that seeks to “undermine Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability and contain China’s development under the pretext of human rights.”
A spokesperson argued that the passage of the act indicates US hypocrisy, particularly with regards to labour-related human trafficking, pointing to the past genocide of native Americans. The statement said, “The US should save the labels of “forced labour” and “genocide” for itself.” The statement also claimed that more than 100,000 people have been trafficked into the US for forced labour over the past five years.
Lastly, China warned the US against further provocation, saying, “The rock they are lifting will end up dropping on their own feet.”
Major American corporations such as Apple and Nike have lobbied against the government’s import ban, emphasising that they have not found any signs of forced labour in their supply chain. On Thursday, American chip manufacturer Intel faced criticism in China after sending a notice to its Chinese suppliers asking them to ensure that forced labour is not used. Intel soon apologised on Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Weibo for the “trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners and the public” over the statements regarding Xinjiang.
US Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to this incident without explicitly calling out Intel, saying that US companies “should never feel the need to apologise for standing up for fundamental human rights or opposing repression.” Regarding Washington’s diplomatic engagement surrounding the law, Psaki said, “We have made no secret of our concerns.”
Last week, the US blacklisted eight Chinese tech companies for helping their government carry out “biometric surveillance and tracking” of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. Earlier this month, the Biden administration also announced a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics over China’s human rights abuses.