US Congress approves import ban targeting forced labour in China
Washington, Dec 17: Senators gave final congressional approval Thursday to a bill barring imports from China's Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove they were produced without forced labour, overcoming initial hesitation from the White House and what supporters said was opposition from corporations.
The measure is the latest in a series intensifying U.S. penalties over China's alleged systemic and widespread abuse of ethnic and religious minorities in the western region, especially Xinjiang's predominantly Muslim Uyghurs. The Biden administration also announced new sanctions Thursday targeting several Chinese biotech and surveillance companies, a leading drone manufacturer and government entities for their actions in Xinjiang.
The Senate vote sends the bill to President Joe Biden. Press secretary Jen Psaki said this week that Biden supported the measure, after months of the White House declining to take a public stand on an earlier version of the legislation.
The United States says China is committing genocide in its treatment of the Uyghurs. That includes widespread reports by rights groups and journalists of forced sterilization and large detention camps where many Uyghurs allegedly are compelled to work in factories.
China denies any abuses. It says the steps it has taken are necessary to combat terrorism and a separatist movement.
The U.S. cites raw cotton, gloves, tomato products, silicon and viscose, fishing gear and a range of components in solar energy as among goods alleged to have been produced with the help of the forced labour.
Xinjiang is a resource-rich mining region, important for agricultural production, and home to a booming industrial sector. Detainees also are moved outside Xinjiang and put to work in factories, including those in the apparel and textiles, electronics, solar energy and automotive sectors, the U.S. says.
Many companies have already taken steps to clean up their supply chains. And, frankly, they should have no concerns about this law," Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who introduced the earlier version of the legislation with Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, said in a statement.
For those who have not done that, they'll no longer be able to continue to make Americans every one of us, frankly unwitting accomplices in the atrocities, in the genocide," Rubio said.
As in the House earlier this week, the compromise version passed the Senate with overwhelming approval from Democrats and Republicans. The swift passage came after what supporters said was offstage opposition from corporations with manufacturing links to China, although there was little to no overt opposition.
Apple's lobbying firm lobbied on Apple's behalf, a federal disclosure form shows. Apple, like Nike and other corporations with work done in China, says it has found no sign of forced labour from Xinjiang in its manufacturing or supply chain.
Some Uyghur rights advocates and others said they had also feared private opposition from within the Biden administration as it sought cooperation from the Chinese on climate change and other issues.
Psaki, in her statement Tuesday night, noted export controls and import restrictions, sanctions, diplomatic initiatives and other measures the Biden administration had already taken targeting forced labour from Xinjiang.
The Senate also approved Biden's nominee for ambassador to China, veteran diplomat Nicholas Burns, on a 75-18 vote Thursday.
Advocates credited unrelenting support from rights groups and lawmakers, including statements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with helping the bill prevail.
With the legislation, sanctions and months of other new measures, the United States is way ahead of the international community on confronting China on abuses of Uyghurs, said Nury Turkel, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
How can anyone get China to change without going after the most important thing to the Chinese government, which is their economic interest?" asked Turkel, who praised Congress but not the administration for what he called coherent messaging on the matter.
The legislation requires government agencies to expand their monitoring of the use of forced labour by China's ethnic minorities. Crucially, it creates a presumption that goods coming from Xinjiang are made with forced labour. Businesses will have to prove that forced labour, including by workers transferred from Xinjiang, played no part in a product to bring it into the United States.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department announced new penalties targeting China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes that focus on using biotechnology to support the Chinese military.
The move bars American companies from selling goods and technologies to the entities without a license.
China is choosing to use these technologies to pursue control over its people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minority groups, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
Separately, the Treasury Department announced it was placing DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, and seven other Chinese companies on an investment blacklist over their alleged involvement in biometric surveillance and tracking of Uyghurs.
The measure means individuals in the U.S. will be prohibited from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities connected with the companies.
DJI dominates the global market for the small, low-altitude drones used by hobbyists, photographers and many businesses and governments.
Other companies added to the Treasury blacklist are image-recognition software firm Megvii, supercomputer manufacturer Dawning Information Industry, facial recognition specialist CloudWalk Technology, cybersecurity group Xiamen Meiya Pico, artificial intelligence company Yitu Technology and cloud computing firms Leon Technology and NetPosa Technologies.
U.S. intelligence has established that Beijing has set up a high-tech surveillance system across Xinjiang that uses biometric facial recognition and has collected DNA samples from all residents, ages 12 to 65, as part of a systematic effort to suppress Uyghurs, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the sanctions on the condition of anonymity.
The Commerce Department said multiple federal agencies determined that the Chinese academy and research institutes use biotechnology processes to support Chinese military end uses and end users, to include purported brain-control weaponry.
The White House announced last week it would stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China's egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang. U.S. athletes will compete but Biden will not send the usual contingent of dignitaries.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment.
Rights groups note prison labour has long been a part of the U.S. economy, with inmates producing goods and providing services such as call centers for what is typically reduced pay. Opponents say the system disproportionately profits off the labour of incarcerated Black Americans.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Belagavi: UT Khader lauds Munawwar Zama's Four-Pillar Education Model
Hubballi/Belagavi: Eminent motivational speaker and educationist Munawar Zama delivered the keynote address at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Sana Group of Institutions, held at the Presidency Club in Belagavi. The event brought together management heads and senior representatives of educational institutions from across North Karnataka.
The programme was attended by several dignitaries, including U. T. Khader, Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Welfare, and Naseer Ahmed, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka. During the event, Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan felicitated Munawar Zama in recognition of his contribution to education and youth development.
In his address, Munawar Zama spoke on the importance of effective management and coordination in educational institutions. He presented what he described as a “four-pillar” model of education, comparing an institution to a vehicle that requires all four wheels to function smoothly. According to him, the four essential pillars are management, teachers, parents and students, and imbalance among any of these can affect the overall progress of an institution.
Explaining the role of management, he said leadership plays a central role in shaping the vision, governance standards, infrastructure and learning environment of an institution. He emphasised the need for transparent systems and long-term planning to sustain academic quality and public trust.
He described teachers as the backbone of the education system, noting that their role extends beyond academics to shaping students’ values, confidence and character. He said motivated teachers, supported through professional development and institutional backing, help create an environment that encourages discipline, curiosity and critical thinking.
On the role of parents, Munawar Zama said education is a shared responsibility. He stressed that parental involvement strengthens coordination with teachers and helps reinforce positive habits and values in students. Students, he said, remain the central focus of the educational ecosystem, and their attitude towards learning and growth determines the effectiveness of collective efforts.
He also highlighted the importance of mathematics, urging students to build a strong foundation in the subject regardless of their chosen fields. According to him, mathematics helps develop logical reasoning, analytical skills and structured problem-solving abilities that are relevant across professions.
Speaking on the occasion, Speaker U. T. Khader lauded Munawar Zama’s four-pillar education model, describing it as practical and relevant to the current needs of the education system. He said the framework clearly highlighted the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in building strong and effective educational institutions.
Participants, particularly institutional heads, said the four-pillar framework encouraged reflection on collective responsibility and balanced participation in education.
As part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations, the Sana Group of Institutions, based in Hubballi, organised the North Karnataka Educational Summit 2025. The institution is led by Chairman Mohammed Hussain Malagi, Managing Trustee Ashraf Ali Bashir Ahamed, and Executive Trustees Ayub Savanur, Mohammed Tariq Mujahid and Khalid Malagi.
A key outcome of the summit was the decision to form the Association for Advancement of Minority Institutions, North Karnataka (AAMINK). The association aims to work collectively on educational, administrative and legal issues, with the objective of strengthening minority institutions through cooperation and shared representation.
The Silver Jubilee celebrations concluded with discussions on institutional development and long-term strategies for improving education across the region.
