US announces sanctions against China over abuse of Uyghurs

The Biden administration has taken a range of punitive actions against Chinese solar product manufacturers as part of an intensified effort to crack down on Uyghur Muslims’ use of forced labor in Xinjiang, Report informs, citing Financial Times.

The administration put five companies that make polysilicon — raw material for solar products — on the commerce department’s “entity list,” which requires US companies to get a license to export to them. It also banned imports of solar products made by the Xinjiang Hoshine Silicon Industry.

The actions are the latest effort by the US to put pressure on the Chinese government over the internment of more than 1m Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in labor camps in the north-western region of Xinjiang.