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One focus of the talks was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is ravaging America, and in particular ingredients for the drug that are made in China. The U.S. wants China to do more to curb the export of chemicals that it says are processed into fentanyl, largely in Mexico, before the final product is smuggled into the United States. But China refused to discuss cooperation unless the U.S. lifted sanctions on the Public Security Ministry's Institute of Forensic Science. The U.S. quietly agreed to lift the sanctions to get cooperation on fentanyl. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called it “an appropriate step to take” given what China was willing to do on the trafficking of fentanyl precursors.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Wang Xiaohong, ”, Jen Daskal, Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Wang Yi, Matthew Miller Organizations: BEIJING, Chinese Public Security, U.S ., U.S, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, ., Biden, Senate, Public Security Ministry's Institute of Forensic Science, The Commerce Department, State Department Locations: U.S, America, China, San Francisco, Taiwan, Mexico, United States, Beijing, China’s Xinjiang, The U.S

The Singapore-based company has not determined the size of the deal or the valuation at IPO. The online fast-fashion retailer, which manufactures most of its merchandise in China, faces criticism that Uyghur forced labor is used to make its low-priced apparel and home goods. Earlier this year, the congresswoman led a bipartisan call for the SEC to halt Shein’s IPO until it verifies that the company does not use forced labor within its supply chain. Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company has previously told Reuters it has “zero tolerance for forced labor” and has no contract manufacturers in Xinjiang. Shein's IPO is "going to be raising issues (for the SEC) that may later be applied across the board to all China-based or China-related companies that are going public," Penick said.

Persons: Chen Lin, Shein confidentially, Shein, Jennifer Wexton, Megan Penick, Robinson, Penick, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, ”, Rubio, Chris Smith, Smith, ByteDance's TikTok, Group's, Katherine Masters, Arriana, Michael Martina, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Bloomberg, Beijing, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Capitol Hill, Republican, Congressional, Commission, Oritain, U.S, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, New York, U.S, Beijing, Washington, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, India

☆ Lawmakers Press Costco on China Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A campaign by U.S. lawmakers to single out companies allegedly tied to human rights abuses in China has come for popular retailer Costco. Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty ImagesCostco Wholesale faces questions from influential U.S. lawmakers over alleged links between forced labor in China and products sold in the retail giant’s stores. Costco should explain why it continues to sell seafood and security cameras that are allegedly tied to human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region and elsewhere, said Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) and Sen. Jeffrey Merkley (D., Ore.) in a letter to Costco Chief Executive W. Craig Jelinek. Smith and Merkley head the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a group of lawmakers and executive branch officials that monitors human rights developments in the country.

Persons: Kena, Chris Smith, Sen, Jeffrey Merkley, Craig Jelinek, Smith Organizations: U.S, Costco, Getty, Congressional, Commission Locations: China, China’s Xinjiang, N.J

WASHINGTON (AP) — For much of the world, China’s Xinjiang region is notorious, a place where ethnic Uyghurs face forced labor and arbitrary detention. The trip is an example of what Washington sees as Beijing’s growing efforts to reshape the global narrative on China. Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded that China tell its story to the world so Beijing would be trusted and respected. In Xinjiang, Beijing has brought in diplomats and foreign journalists on tightly orchestrated trips with minders in tow. While the State Department report focused on Beijing's global influence efforts outside the United States, its findings are similar to those documented in the U.S. by think tanks and advocacy groups.

Persons: ”, Jamie Rubin, Liu Pengyu, Xi Jinping, Yi Fan, Sarah Cook, Glenn Tiffert Organizations: WASHINGTON, State Department, Engagement, Embassy, China, United Nations, Global Times, China News, Senate Intelligence, Freedom, Hoover Institute Locations: Xinjiang, Beijing, China, United States, U.S, Washington, ” Beijing, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Moscow, Iranian, Western, Taiwan

CNN —A US State Department report that accuses the Chinese government of expanding disinformation efforts is “in itself disinformation,” Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed Saturday. The ministry shot back after the State Department issued a striking report this week in which it accused the Chinese government of expanding efforts to control information and to disseminate propaganda and disinformation that promotes “digital authoritarianism” in China and around the world. The US report, issued by the Global Engagement Center on Thursday, alleged that China spends billions of dollars a year on foreign information manipulation and warned that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had “significantly expanded” efforts to “shape the global information environment.”It also underlined US concerns about China as a main military competitor and key rival in the battle over ideas and global disinformation. Two days later, China hit back. “The relevant center of the US State Department which concocted the report is engaged in propaganda and infiltration in the name of ‘global engagement’ – it is a source of disinformation and the command center of ‘perception warfare’,” the ministry said on Saturday.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Department, Global Locations: China, Iraq, Syria, Xinjiang, ’

☆ U.S. Warns Professional Services Firms of China Risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The State Department building in Washington. The department and other U.S. government agencies issued the joint advisory Tuesday. Photo: Ting Shen for The Wall Street JournalDue-diligence companies and professional-services firms should weigh the risks of operating in China, the Biden administration said in an advisory that highlighted the continuing rift between the two countries as the U.S. cracks down on goods from China’s Xinjiang region that it says are linked to forced labor.

Persons: Ting Shen, Biden Organizations: Department, Wall Locations: Washington, China, U.S, China’s Xinjiang

☆ GGV Capital, a top Silicon Valley investor, is splitting off its China business as pressure mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —GGV Capital, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has become the latest big investor to break up its US and China operations into separate companies as tensions between the two countries over tech and geopolitics continue to rise. The other side will focus on China, Southeast Asia and South Asia, run from its headquarters in Singapore, by managing partners Jenny Lee and Jixun Foo. Jenny Lee, managing partner of GGV Capital, at a conference in Singapore in September. Lee will co-lead the Asia side of the business as it becomes its own firm, according to GGV. Asked whether the US order or wider geopolitical tensions had factored into its decision, GGV Capital declined to comment.

Persons: Glenn Solomon, Hans Tung, Jeff Richards, Oren Yunger, Jenny Lee, Jixun, Lee, Slack, ByteDance, Didi, Biden, “, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — GGV, Jiyuan, GGV, Bloomberg, Getty, CNN, Sequoia Locations: China, Hong Kong, North America, Latin America, Europe, Israel, India, California, New York, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Singapore, Asia, United States, China’s Xinjiang, Dentons

☆ Exclusive: US Customs finds garments made with banned Chinese cotton
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Katherine Masters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It requires cutting out the far western region from apparel supply chains. Ten of the 37 garments collected by Customs and Border Protection in May returned as “consistent” with Xinjiang, the documents show. "The amount of Xinjiang cotton entering the U.S. should be zero," she said. Many retailers have also turned to isotopic testing in a bid to keep their supply chain free of cotton with links to forced labor. Officials said isotopic testing alone is not enough to clear shipments detained at U.S. ports for suspected links to Xinjiang.

Persons: Mickey, Laura Murphy, Eric Choy, Ralph Lauren, Oritain, Choy, “ It’s, ”, Katherine Masters, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Customs, Protection, Reuters, Customs, Sheffield Hallam University, . Customs, Goods, Retail, Oritain, Thomson Locations: Xinjiang, China, England, U.S, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand

☆ Pro-Chinese online influence campaign promoted protests in Washington, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Chinese marketing firm likely organized and promoted protests in Washington last year as part of a wide-ranging pro-Beijing influence campaign, according to new research. One of the protests only attracted roughly a dozen people but it showed the scope and ambition of the pro-China efforts. The hired protesters, who included self-proclaimed musicians and actors in the Washington, DC, area, apparently had no idea they were being enlisted in a pro-China influence campaign, the Mandiant researchers said. Haixun, the Chinese firm, distributed videos of the protesters online to further the influence campaign, according to Mandiant. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said he was unaware of the details of the research.

Persons: Mandiant, ” Ryan Serabian, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Joe Biden, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio Organizations: CNN, China, Shanghai Haixun Technology, Embassy, Washington Post, stoke American, FBI, Republican Locations: Washington, Beijing, China, Xinjiang, DC, Shanghai, Mandiant, Russia, Marco Rubio of Florida

A partnership between Ford Motor and a major Chinese battery maker is facing scrutiny by Republican lawmakers, who say it could make an American automaker reliant on a company with links to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. In a letter sent to Ford on Thursday, the chairs of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Ways and Means Committee demanded more information about the partnership, including what they said was a plan by Ford to employ several hundred workers from China at a new battery factory in Michigan. Ford announced in February that it planned to set up the $3.5 billion factory using technology from Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., known as CATL, the world’s largest maker of batteries for electric vehicles. CATL produces about a third of electric vehicle batteries globally and supplies General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Tesla and other major automakers. Ford has defended the partnership, saying it will help diversify Ford’s supply chain and allow a battery that is less expensive and more durable than current alternatives to be made in the United States for the first time, rather than imported.

Persons: Ford Organizations: Ford Motor, Republican, Ford, Chinese Communist Party, Amperex Technology Ltd, Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Tesla Locations: American, China’s Xinjiang, China, Michigan, United States

☆ Chinese tourists flock to ‘Flaming Mountains’ despite heat wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Tourists flocked to China’s scenic Flaming Mountains this week to experience searing high temperatures amid punishing heat waves that have scorched much of the Northern Hemisphere. Armed with broad-brimmed hats and umbrellas for added protection, tourists took selfies by a 12-meter (6.5 feet_-tall thermometer that displayed a real-time surface temperature of 80 Celsius (176 Fahrenheit), Chinese state television showed on Wednesday. Each summer, curious tourists gather at the Flaming Mountains on the northern rim of the Turpan Depression of China’s Xinjiang region to admire their corrugated slopes of brown-red sandstone and feel the super-charged heat emanating from the ground. On that day, the oasis city of Turpan west of the Flaming Mountains recorded temperatures at 31 local weather stations above 45C, with the maximum at five of them breaking above 50C, according to state media on Wednesday. The Chinese capital’s previous record was 26 days, set in 2000.

Organizations: Northern Hemisphere Locations: Turpan, Xinjiang, Asia, Europe, United States, Farmers, Beijing, China

☆ Shein’s Influencer Fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s an infamous tweet that goes like this: “Each day on Twitter there is one main character. She was among a handful of creators from the United States who accepted a free trip to China from the fast-fashion behemoth Shein. The company was founded in China over a decade ago, and though it still produces items there, Shein is now based in Singapore. The company has been accused of sourcing cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, where forced labor and human rights abuses are widespread. The name is pronounced, “she in.” As in, “she in some very cheap clothing.” As in “she in trouble for those TikTok videos.”

Persons: Dani Carbonari —, Dani, Shein, ” Organizations: Twitter Locations: TikTok, United States, China, Singapore, Xinjiang, ”, “

What’d you call it, a weeble?”In a statement to CNN Tuesday afternoon, Suarez denied that he was unaware of the Uyghur situation and the human rights abuses China is accused of committing. “Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. China has a deplorable record on human rights and all people of faith suffer there. The following year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights found China’s treatment of Uyghurs constituted “crimes against humanity.”China denies allegations of such human rights abuses in Xinjiang. “Part of American foreign policy should always be that we fight for human rights for all people.

Persons: Francis Suarez, Hugh Hewitt’s, “, ” Suarez, ” Hewitt, Suarez, “ What’s, Hewitt, Hugh, I’ll, Hugh Hewitt, ”, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nikki Haley, ” Haley, Gary Johnson, – Organizations: CNN CNN — Miami, Republican, CNN, State Department, UN, Human Rights, American Enterprise Institute Locations: China, Xinjing, ” China, Xinjiang, United States, Aleppo

☆ Supply chain scrutiny may upend EU solar ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Western nations are rushing to install more solar panels to reduce their dependency on polluting fossil fuels like gas and oil. Yet a rising legislative tide aimed at ensuring companies’ supply chains are free from forced labour and other abuses presents a mounting challenge for Western utilities. Bernreuter estimates that non-Chinese solar-grade polysilicon is enough to produce 40 gigawatts of solar panels per year. Banned materials include polysilicon, an ultra-pure form of silicon, that is the key raw material used to make solar panels. The European Commission published in February 2022 a draft proposal aimed at forcing companies to better police their global supply chains.

☆ Lawmakers Look for Tough Implementation of Forced Labor Law Targeting China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Workers load cotton bales onto a truck in China’s Xinjiang region, home to the country’s Uyghur people. Researchers say Uyghur and other peoples in the region have been detained and forced to work by authorities. Photo: Wang Yawen/Zuma PressU.S. lawmakers on Tuesday scrutinized possible “loopholes” in an anti-forced labor law blocking many imports from China’s Xinjiang region, expressing bipartisan support for cracking down on companies with supply chains stemming from the region. Several lawmakers drew attention to potential gaps that might be allowing goods from a largely proscribed region of China to enter the U.S. as part of a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The hearing followed U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting it has stopped nearly $1.1 billion in goods with possible links to Xinjiang, home to China’s Uyghur people and other minority groups, under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

☆ Nike faces shareholder proposal on human rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Katherine Masters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Activist shareholder platform Tulipshare is calling on Nike (NKE.N) to offer more transparency on working conditions in its supply chain. In a shareholder proposal released Thursday, London-based Tulipshare requested a report from Nike on whether its policies effectively address its stated equity goals and human rights commitments. The company’s most recently available impact report from fiscal 2021 cites forced labor, supply chain transparency and labor rights as some of its essential priorities. “Nike did not engage with garment worker unions representing Nike supply chain workers about those impacts, despite the OECD Guidelines’ expectation that multinational enterprises do so and despite unions’ requests for dialogue,” the complaint states. In a fiscal 2022 statement on forced labor, Nike said it is growing its business "through long-term relationships with suppliers that are committed to our strict standards of sustainability and human rights, product excellence and compliance with local laws."

Summary Customs delays, tariff uncertainty and soaring global demand have hiked solar costs and delayed projects as the U.S. weans itself off Chinese dependence. The Biden administration's Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA) prevents the import of goods produced using forced labour in China’s Xinjiang Province, including much of the polysilicon used in solar panels. UFLPA checks have blocked panel imports at the U.S. border, delaying projects and driving up project costs. CHART: Solar manufacturing capacity by country, regionSource: International Energy Agency's Report on Solar PV Global Supply Chains, August 2022The UFLPA requires visibility into labour practices along the solar value chain. Lightsource bp has contracted for more than 20 million solar panels through 2028 and is considering imports from Southeast Asia, Turkey and India, Smith said.

☆ U.S. Forced Labor Crackdown Is Tough, But Opaque
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The U.S. has mounted an aggressive crackdown on imports over concerns about Chinese forced labor, but the campaign is an opaque one, with little detailed data on which companies or sectors are being targeted. January alone saw 282 shipments stopped over forced labor concerns, according to Customs data. Luis C.deBaca helped lead the U.S. fight against forced labor in the Obama administration and now teaches law at the University of Michigan. Photo: Luis C.deBacaChina has rejected allegations that it uses forced labor in Xinjiang. The agency added that it is “committed to transparency” and is developing an interactive web-based tool to provide forced labor enforcement statistics.

☆ Canada Looks Poised to Pass Law on Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Canada could require that companies report on their efforts to stop goods made with forced labor from entering their supply chains, adding to momentum among Western governments to tackle the practice. Pending legislation would compel many companies to report on steps taken to prevent or reduce the use of forced labor in their supply chains by detailing, among other things, parts of the supply chains where forced labor might be occurring and the company’s due-diligence procedures. We are consuming products that contain forced labor.”With the passage of S-211, Canada would join several other Western governments in trying to stop businesses’ use of forced labor. Canada’s legislation would apply more broadly than, for example, France’s law, having an impact on some companies with as few as 250 employees. Photo: AssentCanada pledged in the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which became effective in 2020, to block the import of goods made with forced labor.

CNN —The ruling Taliban has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin as the radical Islamist group attempts to bolster the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy. The agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban has signed since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021. Baradar referred to the deal as being in Afghanistan’s best interests, adding that it would strengthen the country’s economy, the statement said. In December, the UN suspended some of its “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s ban on female NGO workers. The Taliban last month also suspended university education for all female students in Afghanistan, drawing condemnation from around the world.

☆ U.S. Bars Imports From Three Companies, Citing Possible Use of Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has barred imports from three companies, including a supplier to Western apparel companies, that the agency says could be using North Korean forced labor. China and Russia are home to the majority of North Korean people working abroad, according to the U.S. The U.S. is leading a growing movement by Western governments to preventing goods made with forced labor from reaching store shelves. U.S. lawmakers in both parties are putting pressure on Customs to tackle forced labor, Mr. Conklin said. North Korean workers labor in dozens of countries, with Pyongyang taking between 70% and 90% of their earnings in many instances, the U.S. said in a 2018 publication.

☆ Tesla, GM Among Car Makers Facing Senate Inquiry Into Possible Links to Uyghur Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In a letter sent to auto makers, Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) says the U.S. can’t compromise its commitment to upholding human rights. WASHINGTON—The Senate Finance Committee has opened an inquiry into whether auto makers including Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. are using parts and materials made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. In a letter sent Thursday, the committee asked the chief executives of eight car manufacturers to provide detailed information on their supply chains to help determine any links to Xinjiang, where the U.S. government has alleged the use of forced labor involving the Uyghur ethnic minority and others.

HONG KONG, Nov 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Protests across China underscore a rising fear among people that President Xi Jinping’s stringent pandemic restrictions may be here to stay. Still, new daily cases hit over 40,000 on Nov. 27. Cities accounting for 65% of the country's GDP are under some sort of lockdown as of Friday, per Goldman Sachs analysts. Any end to the near-daily mandatory Covid tests and strict quarantine rules will be bumpy due to a huge unvaccinated population. As of November, about 27 million citizens aged 60 and above have not been jabbed against Covid, Breakingviews calculated from official data, and another 36 million elderly people have yet to receive their second dose.

☆ China’s lockdown protests spread to campuses and cities abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

HONG KONG — Protests against China’s strict zero-Covid policy and restrictions on freedoms have spread to at least a dozen cities around the world in a show of solidarity with rare displays of defiance in China over the weekend. Expatriate dissidents and students staged small-scale vigils and protests in cities around the world including London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, according to a Reuters tally. In most cases, dozens of people attended the protests, though a few drew more than 100, the tally showed. The protests on the mainland were set off by a fire in China’s Xinjiang region last week that killed 10 people who were trapped in their apartments. It has been common in recent years for overseas Chinese students to rally in support of their government against its critics, but anti-government protests have been rare.

☆ China sees protests against COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

CHINA PROTESTS Fire deaths fuel COVID lockdown fury How the protests gained momentumProtests have flared in several cities in mainland China in recent days, in a wave of civil disobedience unprecedented since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. Protests reported across China Protest mapAlthough the demonstrations in recent days are thousands of miles apart, they share elements in common. Video shows crowds topple police barricades in the street to protest against COVID curbs in China’s Guangzhou Crowds topple police barricades in the street to protest against COVID curbs in Guangzhou, China. Nov. 25 – Urumqi protests Crowds took to the streets at night in Urumqi, chanting "End the lockdown!" Video shows people in China’s Xinjiang protesting against COVID lockdown measures in China Protests against COVID lockdown measures in China's XinjiangIn the capital, Beijing, some 2,700 km (1,678 miles) to the east, some residents under lockdown staged small-scale protests or confronted local officials over movement restrictions.

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