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Lucy Quaggin

Carol Yang

Beijing has condemned a White House decision to add 43 Chinese companies to an import blacklist targeting alleged forced labour in Xinjiang, describing the move as a “classic act of economic coercion”.
Friday’s sanctions were the third time this week that Washington announced measures aimed at China.
Enforcing the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA), the Department of Homeland Security increased its entity list by 30 per cent to include companies in sectors ranging from food and cotton to pharmaceuticals, metals and lithium production.
The UFLPA was passed by Congress in 2021 to target imports from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in western China and to prevent goods alleged to have been produced through forced labour from entering the US market.


“The newly listed entities are connected to the production and sale of goods made in Xinjiang or with the forced labour of Uygurs and other groups specified in the UFLPA,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
He said the sectors covered included gold, copper, transport infrastructure, aluminium, tomatoes, cotton, garments and frozen food.
On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Commerce denied there was any forced labour in Xinjiang and said it would do whatever was necessary to protect the rights and interests of Chinese firms.
The ministry also referred to a recent video call between Vice-Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, saying the two sides had held “candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges on maintaining stable bilateral economic and trade relations”.
It accused Washington of reneging on the diplomatic progress, saying: “Just one day later, the US side introduced egregious measures that harm Chinese interests, severely running counter to the consensus reached by the two heads of state. China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.”
During the call – part of the preparations for President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington next month – China expressed serious concern over the recent economic and trade restrictions imposed by the US, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Beijing has consistently denied allegations of mass detention, human rights abuses and forced labour, mainly targeting the Uygur population in Xinjiang.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said the forced labour allegations were “nothing but a lie”.
“Chinese law explicitly prohibits forced labour,” an embassy representative said. “China firmly opposes the United States using the so-called ‘forced labour’ issue to smear China, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and suppress Chinese companies.”


The expanded list includes one of China’s largest capacitor manufacturers, Hunan Aihua Group, with a US Federal Register notice saying the US government believed the company sourced chemical foil and other materials from the region.
Another notable addition was Chacha Food Co, which mainly produces snacks such as nuts and roasted seeds and exports to close to 50 countries and regions.
Others listed include Xinjiang Tianhongji Technology Co, Tefeng Pharmaceutical Co, Tianshan Aluminum Group and Henan Guorong Electronic Technology Co.
US Customs and Border Protection will begin blocking imports from these companies on Monday.
They are the first additions to the list made during President Donald Trump’s second term in office and increase the number of entities sanctioned from 144 to 187 – the highest total since the act became law in 2021.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that more than 24,300 shipments with a total value of almost US$1 billion had been blocked since the act came into force.
“Today’s action by the Trump administration strengthens America’s economy against products made with slave labour and sends a message to the Chinese Communist Party that we will not look the other way on its genocide and human rights abuses,” John Moolenaar, the chairman of the select committee on China, said on Friday.
Ethnic minorities, including the mostly Muslim Uygur and Kazakh groups, make up close to 60 per cent of Xinjiang’s nearly 26 million people, according to census data released in 2021.
“Importers should know that those who attempt to circumvent today’s action and knowingly import goods produced with forced labour will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Aris Kourkoumelis, the DHS assistant secretary for trade and economic security.
Earlier this week, the US government announced bans on imports of new Chinese robots and power inverters, citing both national security and supply chain vulnerabilities.
The White House also sanctioned a group of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong shipping companies over the alleged transport of Iranian oil to China.


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Washington has sanctioned 43 Chinese companies accused of human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang


Washington has sanctioned 43 Chinese companies accused of human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang.


China hits back at US forced labour blacklist as ‘classic act of coercion’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Washington has sanctioned 43 Chinese companies accused of human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang

Washington has sanctioned 43 Chinese companies accused of human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang