US Targets 3 Sectors in Xinjiang to ‘Strangle China in Global Supply Chain’

Xinjiang denigration – the new normal of the “empire of lies” Illustration: Vitaly Podvitski

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has targeted three more industries — aluminum, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and seafood — as part of a ramped-up enforcement of the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

Analysts said on Wednesday that the “infamous law” passed in 2021 and numerous actions resulting from it aim to defame China’s policies towards Xinjiang and strangle China in the global supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says these industries have been identified as high-priority sectors for law enforcement due to the risk of so-called forced labor or transfer of state employees, according to the department’s website Tuesday. It also continues to designate apparel, cotton and cotton products, silica-based products, including polysilicon, and tomatoes and downstream products as high-priority sectors.

The UFLPA was signed into law in December 2021, but it included the problematic assumption that any product made with materials sourced from the Xinjiang region involved forced labor unless the company could prove otherwise.

DHS, leading the interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), originally released its enforcement strategy in June 2022.

Before the updated strategy was released Tuesday, DHS added three Chinese companies in new prohibited sectors to the entity list in June, expanding the blacklist to include 68 companies whose goods are banned from entering the U.S.

Analysts say the three “priority sectors” targeted by Washington are key industries in Xinjiang’s economic structure. They added that aluminum is linked to auto production, while PVC production is part of petrochemical engineering, another pillar of Xinjiang’s industry.

Seafood is a booming industry in Xinjiang, where salty underground water and lakes provide an ocean-like environment. Official data shows that Xinjiang’s aquatic production rose 6.3 percent to 184,000 tons.

Other “beneficial sectors” in the Xinjiang region have also been targeted from the outset, namely cotton, textiles and photovoltaic components.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), entities in the designated sectors will be prioritized by the FLETF for various enforcement actions: UFLPA Entity Listing, export restrictions, economic sanctions, and visa restrictions.

Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that the real intention of the United States is to restrict the development and economic opportunities of Xinjiang, and to use the Xinjiang region to blacken China’s international image and hinder economic growth.

The continued expansion of U.S. repression under the pretext of “preventing forced labor” aims to disrupt and restructure the global industrial chain, attempt to eliminate or marginalize China, and keep all the basic elements of globalization under U.S. control, Li said.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously revealed that the UFLPA does not prevent “forced labor” but creates “involuntary unemployment.” The law does not protect human rights but undermines the right to livelihood, employment and development of Xinjiang residents in the name of human rights.