Dec 23, 2021: 

Amid deteriorating relations between Beijing and Washington, President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a new law banning products made in China’s Xinjiang province.

The move comes as the international community is calling out China for what they say is the persecution of Uighur Muslims. After being pushed by members of Congress, the law was passed by a unanimous vote of the House and Senate earlier this month. It imposed an almost complete ban on imports of goods from Xinjiang into the United States, and had to prove to suppliers that their products were not manufactured by forced labor. Xinjiang is a major supplier of cotton and solar panels.

The new law imposes sanctions on anyone responsible for forced labor in the Xinjiang region as determined by the United States. This will complicate the supply chain for some US companies that receive materials from China. Following the reaction in China, US chip maker Intel Corporation apologized to Chinese consumers and partners in a public statement on WeChat on Thursday, saying in its first letter to suppliers not to take products or wages from Xinjiang. 

An independent UK-based tribunal ruled last week that the Chinese government had committed genocide, crimes against humanity and violence against Uighurs and other minorities.

The United States has called China’s treatment of Uighurs a “genocide”, citing the situation in Xinjiang earlier this month as it began a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. On Tuesday, China announced sanctions on four members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in exchange for fines imposed on Chinese officials for alleged abuse in Xinjiang.

The Biden administration last week imposed trade sanctions on a number of Chinese companies and entities.