US ‘IllegAl cOnfIScAtIOn’ Of XInJIAng prOdUctS tO deStAbIlISe glObAl SUpply chAIn: chIneSe fM

tHeUS’ use of the non-existent “forced labor” issue as an excuse to illegally confiscate products from China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region destabilises the international supply chain, and will ultimately harm the interests of the US itself, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday, warning that China will take necessary measures to defend the rights of Chinese enterprises.

The remarks were made after Bloomberg reported Thursday that the US is beginning to confiscate imports of aluminium products suspected of “being made through forced labor,” particularly from the Xinjiang region, quoting one of the world’s biggest shipping firms Maersk.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun issuing confiscation notices on aluminium products under the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), according to a notice through Maersk’s official website.

A spokesperson from Maersk told the Global Times on Thursday that the notice is just a routine notification to remind customers of the latest legislation from the US.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that the US is once again using the non-existent issue of “forced labor” in the Xinjiang region as an excuse to politicise normal economic and trade cooperation.

“China will take the necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” she said.

The spokesperson stressed that the US’ illegal confiscation of products from

707 Kashmiris martyred by occupational regime in IIOJK since Aug 2019

ISLAMABAD Agencies the Xinjiang region violates international trade rules and destabilises the international supply chain, and will ultimately harm the interests of the US itself.

The Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) has witnessed a total of 707 killings and 141 custodial killings or fake encounters from August 05, 2019, till October 27, 2022.

According to an official document, a total of 2303 people have been tortured or critically injured, 18,354 arrested 1,101 Arson (Houses, Shops, etc), 43 women widowed, 108 children orphaned, 126 women gangraped or physically abused while 15,208 cordon and search operations were witnessed during the period. During the period from 1989 till October 27, 2022, the IIoJK has witnessed a total of 96,140 killings, 7,265 custodial or fake encounter killings, 165,293 civilians arrested, 110,494 structures/ houses destroyed or damaged, 22,951 women widowed, 107,883 children orphaned and 11,256 women gang raped or physically abused.

Aluminium and items made from the metal have joined cotton, tomatoes and polysylicon in coming under scrutiny over links to the Xinjiang region after the CBP in late December and early January began issuing confiscation notices, naming aluminium as a fourth product, Bloomberg reported. The enforcement falls under the UFLPA signed by US President Joe Biden in late 2021.

Considering that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reportedly planning a China visit in the near future, it is not surprising that the US has suddenly intensified its crackdown on Xinjiang products, Wang Jiang, an expert at the Institute of China’s Borderland Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, told the Global Times. “The US has once again pulled a card out of nowhere to pressure China, a routine tactic in US diplomacy.” However, since the US passed the UFLPA, it has never presented proof of even a single case involving “forced labor” in Xinjiang, but only “a presumption of guilt,” Wang noted.

“Judging from the current market situation, I am confident that the domestic Chinese market is capable of absorbing most of the aluminium and aluminium products from Xinjiang… The local government is also expected to issue some policies to help the affected companies.”

The US is trying to force China out of the global industrial chain, but not only is this difficult to do, its excessively high costs are also ultimately passed on to consumers, especially those in the US, observers noted.