The Biden administration on Tuesday escalated its rhetoric against American companies doing business in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, calling US investments a potential threat and warning American firms that they may wind up breaking the law if they don’t leave the region.
The new US advisory includes pages of details describing the legal and reputational risks for American firms operating in Xinjiang, and warns them to brace for serious consequences if they stay there and continue with business as usual.
“Given the severity and extent of these abuses”, it said, citing forced labour, intrusive surveillance, and a continuing genocide and crimes against humanity against the region’s Uygur population, “businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating US law”.