China Sanctions US Firm Over Xinjiang Research

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Facts

• China on Tuesday announced the imposition of sanctions on Los Angeles-based data firm Kharon for providing evidence on alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. The move came after the US put curbs on three Chinese firms earlier this month, after Kharon claimed they forcefully deployed thousands of laborers in 2017.¹
• Denying its involvement in any labor abuse, China stated that sanctions under its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law will also target two US analysts: Edmund Xu of Kharon, and Nicole Morgret of the US-China Economic And Security Review Commission.²
• The 'countermeasures' will freeze all of Kharon's assets in China and restrict Chinese entities from holding any ties with the company. Xu and Morgret, on the other hand, are now barred from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.³
• Kharon — known for its reports hinting at alleged abuses in the Uyghur minority-dominated Xinjiang — has denied China's allegations. The firm said it would continue its work which, in the past, has indicted the Chinese seafood, polysilicon, and beer industries, among others.²
• China had earlier warned the US of possible countermeasures against Washington's sanctions on its business entities, saying 'human rights' were merely a ruse to enable interference in China’s internal affairs in violation of global norms.⁴
• The US has long accused China of forcing millions of minorities into re-education camps. While China views this as vocational training that supports economic uplift, the US has alleged labor abuse and a denial of basic human rights.⁵

Sources: ¹XM, ²Wall Street Journal, ³Ecns, ⁴South China Morning Post and ⁵The Standard.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Over the years, the US has conjured up vivid fantasies of human rights abuses by China. Based on this sophistry, it has sought to interfere in domestic Chinese matters. All this has been done in violation of international law, with the intent of tarring China's image. The US's private sector has been hand-in-glove in this stratagem and China will not take it lying down.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Council on Foreign Relations. China can sabre-rattle all it wants, but it is well-established that Xinjiang is the backdrop to mass abuse. 'Re-education' has, over the years, upended the lives of millions of Muslim Uyghur people who have been herded into correctional camps. These Turkic-speaking minorities have been subjected to untold miseries. It is well within international norms for the US and its companies to expose these practices, and consequently curb them.

Predictions