US set to blacklist more than 10 Chinese companies over forced labour charges in Xinjiang

The American government is about to add at least 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist. The reason is believed to be an indirect consequence of China’s alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang. China rubbished the allegations of abuse of human rights through genocide and forced labour. However, China confirmed that it has placed policies to identify extremists responsible for the increase in tension between Uyghurs, a Muslim-Chinese ethnic group and Han, the largest ethnic group of China.

China’s spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, assured support from the Chinese government to the companies in question.

He said, “The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and rejects the U.S. attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs.”

Wenbin has always maintained that there is no abuse going on in Xinjiang and regularly posts words of praise by diplomats of other countries, specifically for Xinjiang, on his Twitter account.

Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department had announced that five Chinese companies will be added to the blacklist over allegations of forced labour in the far western region of China. Biden administration along with the Commerce Department are trying to hold the Chinese Government accountable for abuse of human rights within their own territory. Their official explanation for adding these companies was, "for accepting or utilizing forced labor in the implementation of the People’s Republic of China’s campaign of repression against Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."

Previously in 2019, Donald Trump’s government blacklisted a few Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies that allegedly took part in developing the technology for high-tech surveillance on the people of Xinjiang. Trump's administration targeted over 20 companies for their treatment of the Uyghur Muslims of the Xinjiang region. United Nations (UN) fear that their estimate of a million people from the Muslim minorities being detained in concentration camps could be true.