UK targets China over ‘forced labour’
THE UK will introduce new rules for companies to try to prevent goods linked to China’s Xinjiang region entering the supply chain, foreign minister Dominic Raab said yesterday, toughening London’s response to allegations of forced labour.
Mr Raab said there was harrowing evidence of forced labour among Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang after the UN estimated at least 1 million of the minority among others were held in an internment camp. Beijing denies the charges. Mr Raab said Britain wanted to make sure it was free from any products that had links with Xinjiang, where he cited widespread reports of internment camps, forced labour and the forced sterilisation of Uighur women.
“We must do more and we will,” he said.
“Xinjiang’s position in the international supply chain network means that there is a real risk of businesses and public bodies around the world, whether it’s inadvertently or otherwise, sourcing from suppliers which are complicit in the use of forced labour.”
It is not clear how many products connected to Xinjiang enter the UK supply chain.
Britain’s stance marks a further deterioration in its relationship with China just five years after London hailed the start a “golden era” in ties and President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the capital which included a dinner hosted by Queen Elizabeth.
Since then, Britain has criticised China over Hong Kong and ordered the removal of Huawei equipment from its 5G network.
Mr Raab said Britain would check sourcing more thoroughly and toughen the Modern Slavery Act to include fines.
It would also bar from government contracts any companies which do not comply to procurement rules, and launch a Xinjiang-specific review of export controls.
“This package put together will help make sure that no British organisations, government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently are profiting from, or contributing to, human rights violations against the Uighurs or other minorities in Xinjiang,” he said.
China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun rejected the comments and told the 15-member council the various narratives on Xinjiang are “purely politically motivated”.