US tightens import ban: China rejects forced labor accusation

China Fights Back The U.S. Import Restrictions Are Sharply Criticized by Beijing

2026-08-03 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

China is annoyed by the new U.S. import restrictions targeting 43 Chinese companies, as reported by dpa.

Behind the walls of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, there is current annoyance over accusations from the U.S.: Dozens of domestic companies are allegedly benefiting from forced labor, which is why they are now subject to U.S. import restrictions. However, they plan to fight back...(Image: Y. Cheng) — Behind the walls of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, there is current annoyance over accusations from the U.S.: Dozens of domestic companies are allegedly benefiting from forced labor, which is why they are now subject to U.S. import restrictions. However, they plan to fight back...
(Image: Y. Cheng)

The accusations against 43 Chinese companies affected by the new US import restrictions were completely unfounded, the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing angrily stated. The actions were a typical case of economic coercion. China would therefore take necessary measures to protect its companies. The bone of contention: the US Department of Homeland Security recently placed the Chinese players on a blacklist. Their goods are now generally considered to be produced with forced labor and are therefore not allowed to be imported into the US. Importers could, however, try to prove otherwise. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also criticized the timing of the US action, as just one day earlier China's Vice Premier He Lifeng had spoken in a video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Suspected Forced Labor in Xinjiang

The list of banned companies was introduced in June 2022 based on a law passed at the end of 2021, it is further stated. It now expands from 144 to 187 companies, marking the largest expansion to date. Affected are companies from the electronics, pharmaceutical, and cotton industries, among others, as reported. According to the US, these companies source materials from Xinjiang or participate in state labor programs there. Xinjiang is an autonomous region in northwest China, home to many Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority. Human rights activists and UN experts suspect the Chinese authorities of systematically repressing Uyghurs in Xinjiang and, in some cases, forcing them to work. Beijing, however, denies these allegations and asserts that there is no forced labor there.

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