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The United States will block a range of Chinese products it says are made through forced labor in the Xinjiang region, including from a center it called a “concentration camp” for Uighur minorities.
Washington’s move came as the EU urged Beijing to allow independent observers into Xinjiang and warned that China must make concessions if it wants to reach a major investment deal with the bloc.
Acting US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan accused the Chinese government of “systematic abuses against the Uighur people” and other minorities.
“Forced labor is a heinous abuse of human rights,” he said.
The blocked items will include cotton, clothing, hair products and electronics from five specific manufacturers in Xinjiang.
It also included all products linked to the Lop County Xinjiang No. 4 Professional Skills Education and Training Center, which according to Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli was a forced labor center.
“This is not a vocational center, it is a concentration camp, a place where religious and ethnic minorities are abused and forced to work in atrocious conditions without recourse or freedom,” Cuccinelli told reporters. “This is modern slavery.”
The announced actions consisted of “withholding release orders” or WROs, which empower US customs to seize products from blacklisted companies and organizations.
The US government is increasingly using such orders to pressure Beijing to detain more than a million members of the majority Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang to allegedly re-educate them.
In July, the customs agency placed blocks on hair products, used for wigs and extensions, from various companies operating in Xinjiang, and in August it did the same with garments made and sold by Hero Vast Group.
“The Chinese government needs to close its concentration camps,” Cuccinelli said.
The European Union’s call for an independent observer in Xinjiang came during video talks between EU chiefs and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which focused primarily on trade and climate change.
“We reiterate our concern about China’s treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the treatment of human rights defenders and journalists,” said EU Council President Charles Michel.
“We request the access of independent observers to Xinjiang and call for the release of the Swedish citizen Gui Minhai and two Canadian citizens arbitrarily detained.”
Human rights groups, academics and journalists have documented a harsh crackdown on Uighur and Kazakh Muslims in Xinjiang, including mass internments, forced sterilizations, forced labor, as well as heavy religious and movement restrictions.
Activists say that roughly a million Uighurs and others have been imprisoned in brainwashing camps, though Beijing describes them as vocational training centers and says it seeks to provide education to reduce the appeal of Islamic radicalism.
In Monday’s virtual meeting, which replaced a canceled full summit with the 27 EU leaders, the Europeans also pressured Xi on Hong Kong, where the West says Beijing is attacking historic freedoms.
“Hong Kong’s national security law continues to raise serious concerns. The EU and our member states have responded with one clear voice: democratic voices in Hong Kong must be heard, rights protected and autonomy preserved, ”said Michel.
