We Cannot Rely on China — Or Modern-Day Slavery

by Claire Christensen It has become abundantly clear that overreliance on China for medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and pharmaceuticals presents a national security threat to the United States. In the midst of a global pandemic, China’s authoritarian regime restricted exports of US companies’ medical equipment from China to the US and threatened to cut off pharmaceutical supplies. As a result, an important initiative has taken hold to call on businesses to diversify their supply chains and move manufacturing out of China, ideally, to the US. And this initiative extends to more than just companies that provide medical products. In early April, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told Fox Business, “f we had 100 percent immediate expensing, we should literally pay the moving costs of American companies from China back to the US.” However, in calling on willing companies to move manufacturing out of China to protect US national security and secure their own interests, we must also hold American corporations accountable that currently rely on modern-day slavery in China. The United States has adamantly condemned China’s forced imprisonment of Uyghurs and other ethnic and minority groups in internment camps in Xinjiang, which has been occurring since 2017. In the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s 2019 report, the commission found that in Xinjiang, there were cases of forced labor performed by detainees in the internment camps; cases of people who were released from the camps and forced to work in factories; and cases where people from ethnic minority groups were first sent to a forced labor assignment, rather than being placed in a camp. Additionally, a 2020 report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), called “Uyghurs for Sale,” also found that forced labor by members of minority groups occurs outside of Xinjiang. The ASPI report examined 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that are using the labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic and minority groups who have been transferred from Xinjiang. The report found the factories are alleged incorporated into the supply chains of 83 global brands in the automotive, clothing, and technology sectors. The report determined that at least 80,000 laborers between 2017 and 2019 were moved from Xinjiang and placed in such factories, but noted this estimation is likely much higher. Though the ASPI research could not confirm that all of these labor transfers were forced, the report did discover, “highly disturbing coercive labor practices consistent with definitions of forced labor.” Further, private brokers and local governments are paid for each worker that is assigned by the Xinjiang provincial government. Forced labor practices in China are an explicit violation of human rights, blatantly contradict the fundamental values of the United States, and ultimately further the Chinese Communist Party’s systematic campaign of oppression that bolsters its totalitarian grip on power. No loans or funding should be awarded by the US government to any company that wants to move their business out of China that is knowingly relying on forced labor by minority groups to further enhance their bottom line. We should strongly encourage such companies to move their supply chains and manufacturing out of China, but for those companies who continue to take advantage of this modern-day slavery, we must hold them and the Chinese Communist Party accountable. By signing into law Senator Marco Rubio’s bipartisan and bicameral Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the US will ensure that forced labor is not used to in the production of goods from Xinjiang. Such restrictions in the bill will cover Xinjiang and labor supply chains throughout the rest of China which have relied on forced labor transfer programs. Among other requirements, the bill mandates that all companies prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that no forced labor was used to make any products sourced from Xinjiang and imported into the United States. The 1930 Tariff Act already can ban imports if there is proof that goods were made with forced labor. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act assumes all goods are produced in Xinjiang are using forced labor and therefore issues much stronger human rights protections. Though the discourse about encouraging companies to move supply chains and manufacturing out of China initially hinged on the issue of national security, we must not let the human rights component fall from the conversation. Failing to do so would undermine our core American values. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to challenge and threaten our values, because the concepts of individual liberties, human rights, capitalism, and democracy directly threaten the Party’s totalitarian control. In the competition with the Chinese Communist Party, we must never underestimate the power that standing for and defending such beliefs hold. Claire Christensen has worked with me at Gingrich360 for the last three years helping with research on China, national security, and international affairs issues. She is the co-author of my book Trump vs. China: Facing America’s Greatest Threat. – Newt