The United States has effectively banned cotton products from Xinjiang, while the European Union in March issued its first sanctions against Beijing since 1989. Photo: Getty Images
Explainer | Xinjiang timeline: key dates, events as China denies Western forced labour allegations
Since 2017, China has been faced with international criticism over alleged forced labour, genocide and other abuses against the Uygur Muslim population
Beijing has continually denied these allegations, and in June 2021 passed an anti-sanctions law to allow it to retaliate against a host of foreign sanctions
This is the sixth and final part in a series of stories looking at China’s Xinjiang province and how the far-western region is coping economically under a series of US sanctions over alleged human rights violations and the widespread use of forced labour.
Since 2017, China has faced international criticism over alleged forced labour, genocide and other abuses against the Uygur Muslim population in Xinjiang province. Beijing has continually denied these allegations.
“Since at least March 2017, local authorities [in China] dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uygur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups,” then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in January 2021.
But how did we get to this point with sanctions being placed on China and by China, culminating in Beijing passing an anti-sanctions law in June 2021?
We break down the key moments of a issue that has rapidly escalated into a global concern.
01:08
Xinjiang, China’s top cotton producer
Xinjiang, China’s top cotton producer
08/10/19: US imposes visa restrictions on Chinese officials over ‘brutal suppression’ of Uygurs, other Muslims
The sanctions targeted government officials and members of the ruling Communist Party due to a “highly repressive campaign against” Uygurs and the other Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which “includes mass detentions in internment camps”.
14/05/20: US Senate passes Uygur Human Rights Policy Act
The Uygur Human Rights Policy Act directed the White House to submit a report to the US Congress within 180 days identifying those deemed responsible for torture, extrajudicial detention, forced disappearance and other “flagrant denial[s]” of human rights in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
23/05/20: US imposes sanctions on 33 Chinese companies and institutions
Two dozen companies and institutions including the tech giant Qihoo 360 Technology were placed on the first so-called entity list for “supporting procurement of items for military end-use in China”, while nine entities were put on a second list for their alleged roles in rights violations in the Xinjiang region.
18/06/20: Trump signs Uygur human rights bill into US law
The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which authorises sanctions against Chinese officials, was quietly signed into law by US President Donald Trump with no cameras present more than a week after a united US Congress sent it to his desk with a veto-proof majority.
09/07/20: US sanctions Chinese government officials
The sanctions specifically named Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region party secretary Chen Quanguo and three other top officials of the region’s leadership, as well as other unidentified people “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the unjust detention or abuse of Uygurs, ethnic Kazakhs and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang”.
10/07/21: US blacklists 11 more Chinese firms
Companies added to “entity list” include Changji Esquel Textile, of the Esquel Group, which produces clothing for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, due to involvment in using forced labour by Uygurs and other Muslim minority groups. Blacklisted firms cannot buy components from US companies without US government approval.
01:50
China claims improved living standards and ethnic equality in Xinjiang while ignoring allegations
China claims improved living standards and ethnic equality in Xinjiang while ignoring allegations
31/07/20: US sanctions Chinese entity, individuals over ‘human rights abuses’ using Global Magnitsky Act
The sanctions targeted Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) for its “connection to serious human rights abuse” in Xinjiang. They also applied to Sun Jinlong, XPCC’s former party secretary, and the entity’s deputy party secretary, Peng Jiarui.
14/09/20: US issues restrictions on imports of Xinjiang cotton, apparel products
In addition to four companies, the orders targeted a specific “training centre”, which the US considered a detention camp.
02/12/20: US to block import of cotton goods produced by leading supplier
The US government said it will begin blocking the import of all cotton products made by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), citing concerns that the sprawling, quasi-military entity in northwest China is responsible for widespread use of forced labour.
21/12/20: US targets companies with military connections, hits officials with visa restrictions
The Commerce Department’s first tranche of “military end user” companies included 58 Chinese companies – including the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the state-owned military aerospace contractor that is a key supplier for a commercial aircraft that Beijing is trying to bring to market – and 45 Russian ones.
29/12/20: Chinese state media denies BBC reports of forced labour
The British broadcaster said it had found evidence that hundreds of thousands of Uygurs were being forced to pick cotton, but both the China Daily and Global Times carried articles saying the claims were untrue and “fictionalised”.
12/01/21: Britain introduces new policies to end supply-chain links to Xinjiang
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced moves to cut off business with suppliers where there is sufficient evidence of human rights violations.
01:11
China’s top diplomat denies Xinjiang ‘genocide’ claims and defends Hong Kong national security law
China’s top diplomat denies Xinjiang ‘genocide’ claims and defends Hong Kong national security law
19/01/21: US declares China has committed genocide in its treatment of Uygurs
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of “genocide and crimes against humanity” for the country’s treatment of Uygur Muslims, using his last full day as America’s top diplomat to issue a final blow against Beijing.
23/02/21: Canadian lawmakers vote to declare China is committing genocide
Canada’s House of Commons voted to declare that China is committing genocide against more than 1 million Uygurs in the western Xinjiang region, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet abstained from the vote. The measure also called on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing.
22/03/21: US, EU, Britain, Canada launch sanctions blitz against Chinese officials
The United States, European Union, Britain and Canada banded together to sanction Chinese officials over suspected human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The EU announced its sanctions first, naming four officials and one entity in Xinjiang, with China hitting back almost immediately, imposing sanctions on 10 European individuals and four entities.
02:38
Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
24/03/21: H&M under fire in China over refusal to buy Xinjiang cotton
Chinese media reported that H&M products were removed from all major Chinese e-commerce platforms, including JD, Taobao, and Pinduoduo.
26/03/21: China sanctions British MPs, lawyers, businesses for ‘disinformation’
China announced sanctions on nine individuals and four entities in Britain that it said “maliciously spread lies and disinformation” about Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang.
27/03/21: China hits back with sanctions on US, Canadian politicians
Those targeted included Gayle Manchin, chairwoman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and its vice chairman Tony Perkins; Canadian MP Michael Chong and members of the Canadian Commons subcommittee on international human rights.
03:36
Beijing hits back at Western sanctions against China’s alleged treatment of Uygur Muslims
Beijing hits back at Western sanctions against China’s alleged treatment of Uygur Muslims
29/03/21: Chinese branch of Better Cotton Initiative challenges headquarters, says no evidence of forced labour
The rift between the Better Cotton Initiative’s headquarters in Geneva and the Shanghai branch, whose claims were heavily promoted by Chinese state media, highlights the difficulty international organisations face when dealing with sensitive topics such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong that Beijing insists are purely internal matters.
23/04/21: British parliament declares Uygurs are suffering ‘genocide’
The motion called on the British government to “fulfil its obligations” under relevant United Nations conventions “to bring it to an end” and follows similar votes taken in the parliaments of the Netherlands and Canada.
20/05/21: EU-China investment deal on hold as MEPs vote to halt talks
The European Parliament voted to freeze discussions on its investment deal with China until Beijing removes the retaliatory sanctions it imposed on officials, diplomats, academics and researchers in March.
02:02
Britain sanctions Chinese officials over Xinjiang alongside US, EU and Canada
Britain sanctions Chinese officials over Xinjiang alongside US, EU and Canada
02/06/21: Western brands accused of selling substandard products
China’s government formally accused an array of Western fashion brands – including H&M, Nike and Zara – of selling substandard children’s clothes that posed potential health hazards, amid ongoing calls by Chinese shoppers to boycott Western clothing brands for their refusal to use cotton grown in Xinjiang province.
09/06/21: US Senate passes broad US$250 billion legislation to counter, compete with China
The 2,400-page US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 touched on nearly every aspect of the nations’ complex relationship, including semiconductors, Taiwan, Xinjiang and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
10/06/21: China passes anti-sanctions law that ‘can target individuals, families, organisations’
China’s top legislative body has passed an anti-sanctions law, providing legal backing for sweeping retaliation against any individuals, their families and organisations responsible for imposing foreign sanctions against the country.
02:06
Biden says G7 leaders agreed to call out China over human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong
Biden says G7 leaders agreed to call out China over human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong
25/06/21: US bans imports of solar panel material from Chinese company over forced labour allegations
The Biden administration ordered a ban on US imports of a key solar panel material from Chinese-based Hoshine Silicon Industry over forced labour allegations. The US Commerce Department separately restricted exports to Hoshine, three other Chinese companies and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
09/07/21: US sanctions 23 more Chinese companies for suspected Xinjiang abuses, military, business ties
The Biden administration added another 23 Chinese companies to its trade blacklist – 14 over their role in suspected human rights abuses in Xinjiang, five for their ties to China’s military, and another four for doing business with other firms that had already been sanctioned.
14/07/21: US ban on all products from Xinjiang nears as Senate passes forced labour bill
The Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act would create a “rebuttable presumption” assuming goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour and therefore banned under the 1930 Tariff Act, unless otherwise certified by US authorities.
15/11/21: EU to ban ‘forced labour’ products
The European Union moved forward with a ban on forced labour products, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed a move widely seen as being directed at China.
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