U.S. measures over Xinjiang preceded the broader Chinese response
China’s orders prohibit commercial and institutional dealings with Applied DNA Sciences Inc., Stratum Reservoir LLC, Altana Technologies Inc., the Responsible Business Alliance, Verite Group Inc., Human Rights in China and Compliance Testing LLC.
The ministry linked Applied DNA Sciences, Stratum Reservoir, Altana Technologies, the Responsible Business Alliance, Verite Group and Human Rights in China to what it called the United States’ “illegal sanctions concerning Xinjiang.” The ministry did not specify how the six entities were involved, but said “their conduct is egregious.”
The measures against those six entities came less than a week after the United States added 43 companies to its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. The U.S. list effectively bans imports from the companies based on the presumption that their products were made using the forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
The U.S. State Department declared China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority a genocide in 2021 and alleged that Chinese authorities had arbitrarily imprisoned at least 1 million Uyghurs. China has also faced accusations from several governments, legal bodies and civil organizations involving forced sterilization, forced labor, forced detention and restrictions on religious freedom, expression and movement.
China rejects those accusations and says the camps in Xinjiang are for education and training. A Commerce Ministry spokesperson said China was “strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes” the U.S. sanctions against the 43 companies. The ministry said the U.S. action violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and infringed on China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.
Human Rights in China, a nongovernmental organization founded in 1989, condemned China’s designation. The organization called the measures “a blatant act of retaliation against entities working to ensure that international trade and commerce are not tainted by forced labor and other serious human rights abuses.”
The organization also described the measures as “another attempt by the Chinese government to intimidate and silence organizations that advocate for universal human rights and corporate accountability.” It said it was surprised to be listed alongside organizations it had not previously known, but regarded the designation “as a badge of honor.”
The FCC-linked designation follows a separate technology dispute
China separately accused Compliance Testing of assisting and supporting Federal Communications Commission actions “harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.”
The designation followed the FCC’s July 28 ban on foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters. Some people said that action specifically targeted China. The measure also came amid reports that the Trump administration was drafting a ban on Chinese data-center components.
The Commerce Ministry said Compliance Testing was involved in FCC measures “seriously infringing upon the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies,” although its specific involvement was unclear.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China opposed the United States “overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to go after Chinese businesses.”
“Protectionism will not make the U.S. more competitive,” Lin said. “The U.S. move seriously disrupts normal trade and economic exchanges between Chinese and U.S. businesses and consumers or anyone else for that matter.” He said China would continue protecting its businesses’ “legitimate and lawful rights and interests.”
The measures were announced weeks before Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington on Sept. 24 for talks with Trump. The expected discussions are to cover artificial intelligence, technological competition and global economic relations.