China has sharply criticized the USA for new import restrictions against 43 Chinese companies. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing said the allegations had no basis. The procedure is a “typical case of economic coercion”. China will take necessary measures to protect its companies.
The US Department of Homeland Security placed the companies on a blacklist on Friday. From Monday onwards, your goods will generally be considered to have been produced using forced labor and may not be imported into the USA. However, importers can try to prove otherwise.
The list was introduced in June 2022 based on a law passed at the end of 2021. It is now growing from 144 to 187 companies. It is the largest expansion to date. Companies from the electronics, pharmaceutical and cotton industries are affected, among others.
Dispute over Xinjiang
According to the USA, the companies source material from Xinjiang or participate in government work programs there. Xinjiang is an autonomous region in northwest China. Many Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim minority, live there.
Human rights activists and UN experts accuse the Chinese authorities of systematically repressing Uighurs in Xinjiang and sometimes forcing them to work. Beijing rejects the allegations and says there is no forced labor in the region.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also criticized the timing of the US measure. Just a day earlier, China’s Vice Prime Minister He Lifeng spoke to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a video call. A second meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping this year is currently being prepared. According to Trump, Xi is scheduled to come to the White House on September 24th.