Combating Human Trafficking in China

"Imagine a worker whose employer has canceled his passport, relocated him to a detention camp and forced him to work for little to no pay making gloves. This worker endures strict limits on his freedom of movement and communication, constant surveillance, isolation, retribution for his religious beliefs, exclusion from the community and social life, and threats to his family members. He is also enrolled in a Communist Party indoctrination program. The gloves he makes are shipped for sale all around the world to unwitting consumers.

Now stop imagining. This is a reality.

The Chinese Communist Party continues to carry out a campaign of repression in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other ethnic or religious – mostly Muslim – minority groups. Specific abuses include arbitrary mass detentions, forced labor and other labor abuses, oppressive surveillance, religious persecution, and other infringements on the rights of those groups in Xinjiang and across China.

The U.S. Department of Labor has reason to believe at least 100,000 and possibly hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other ethnic and religious minorities are being subjected to forced labor following detention in reeducation camps. Poor workers from rural areas may also experience coercion without detention under the guise of “poverty alleviation.”

Uyghurs work in factories in the supply chains of dozens of global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors.

As we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Jan. 11, the conditions in Xinjiang are a stark reminder of the realities faced by the 25 million forced laborers the world over.

In September, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) released its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, which featured the addition of 25 goods, including 13 goods produced by forced labor. Five of these goods – gloves, hair products, textiles, thread/yarn and tomato products – were made by Uyghur and other ethnic or religious minorities in state-sponsored forced labor in China..."
Human trafficking and China 

COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events (December 2019-January 2020)

"In Congress, multiple bills and resolutions have been introduced related to China’s handling of a novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, that expanded to become the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. This report provides a timeline of key developments in the early weeks of the pandemic, based on available public reporting. It also considers issues raised by the timeline, including the timeliness of China’s information sharing with the World Health Organization (WHO), gaps in early information China shared with the world, and episodes in which Chinese authorities sought to discipline those who publicly shared information about aspects of the epidemic. Prior to January 20, 2020—the day Chinese authorities acknowledged person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus—the public record provides little indication that China’s top leaders saw containment of the epidemic as a high priority. Thereafter, however, Chinese authorities appear to have taken aggressive measures to contain the virus.

The Appendix includes a concise version of the timeline. A condensed version is below:

Late December: Hospitals in Wuhan, China, identify cases of pneumonia of unknown origin..."
COVID-19 and China

COVID-19: China Medical Supply Chains and Broader Trade Issues

"The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), first in China, and then globally, including in the United States, is drawing attention to the ways in which the U.S. economy depends on manufacturing and supply chains based in China. This report aims to assess current developments and identify immediate and longer range China trade issues for Congress.

An area of particular concern to Congress is U.S. shortages in medical supplies— including personal protective equipment (PPE) and pharmaceuticals—as the United States steps up efforts to contain COVID-19 with limited domestic stockpiles and insufficient U.S. industrial capacity. Because of China’s role as a global supplier of PPE, medical devices, antibiotics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, reduced export from China have led to shortages of critical medical supplies in the United States. Exacerbating the situation, in early February 2020, the Chinese government nationalized control of the production and distribution of medical supplies in China—directing all production for domestic use—and directed the bureaucracy and Chinese industry to secure supplies from the global market. Now apparently past the peak of its COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government may selectively release some medical supplies for overseas delivery, with designated countries selected, according to political calculations.

Congress has enacted legislation to better understand and address U.S. medical supply chain dependencies, including P.L. 116-136, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, that includes several provisions to  expand drug shortage reporting requirements;

 require certain drug manufacturers to draw up risk management plans;
 require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to maintain a public list of medical devices that are determined to be in shortage; and
 direct the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study of pharmaceutical supply chain security..."
COVID-19 and medical supplies

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities from China in U.S. Federal Information and Communications Technology

"The U.S. government needs a national strategy for supply chain risk management (SCRM) of commercial supply chain vulnerabilities in U.S. federal information and communications technology (ICT), including procurement linked to the People’s Republic of China (China or PRC). This strategy must include supporting policies so that U.S. security posture is forward-leaning, rather than reactive and based on responding to vulnerabilities, breaches, and other incidents after they have already damaged U.S. national security, economic competitiveness, or the privacy of U.S. citizens.

This study uses a comprehensive definition of “U.S. government ICT supply chains” that includes (1) primary suppliers, (2) tiers of suppliers that support prime suppliers by providing products and services, and (3) any entities linked to those tiered suppliers through commercial, financial, or other relevant relationships. U.S. federal government ICT supply chains are multi-tiered, webbed relationships rather than singular or linear ones. The supply chain threat to U.S. national security stems from products produced, manufactured, or assembled by entities that are owned, directed, or subsidized by national governments or entities known to pose a potential supply chain or intelligence threat to the United States, including China. These products could be modified to (1) perform below expectations or fail, (2) facilitate state or corporate espionage, or (3) otherwise compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a federal information technology system.."
Supply chain venerabilities

China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States

"Prior to the initiation of economic reforms and trade liberalization 36 years ago, China maintained policies that kept the economy very poor, stagnant, centrally-controlled, vastly inefficient, and relatively isolated from the global economy. Since opening up to foreign trade and investment and implementing free market reforms in 1979, China has been among the world’s fastest-growing economies, with real annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaging nearly 10% through 2016. In recent years, China has emerged as a major global economic power. It is now the world’s largest economy (on a purchasing power parity basis), manufacturer, merchandise trader, and holder of foreign exchange reserves.

The global economic crisis that began in 2008 greatly affected China’s economy. China’s exports, imports, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows declined, GDP growth slowed, and millions of Chinese workers reportedly lost their jobs. The Chinese government responded by implementing a $586 billion economic stimulus package and loosening monetary policies to increase bank lending. Such policies enabled China to effectively weather the effects of the sharp global fall in demand for Chinese products, but may have contributed to overcapacity in several industries and increased debt by Chinese firms and local government. China’s economy has slowed in recent years. Real GDP growth has slowed in each of the past six years, dropping from 10.6% in 2010 to 6.7% in 2016, and is projected to slow to 5.7% by 2022..."
China's economic rise

Comparing Global Influence: China's and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World
"This report compares the People's Republic of China's (PRC) and U.S. projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or "soft power," and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China's emergence. Part One discusses U.S. foreign policy interests, China's rising influence, and its implications for the United States. Part Two compares the global public images of the two countries and describes PRC and U.S. uses of soft power tools, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance..."

Comparing Global Influence: China’s and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World
"This report compares the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) and U.S.
projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or “soft
power,” and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of
China’s emergence. Part One discusses U.S. foreign policy interests, China’s rising
influence, and its implications for the United States. Part Two compares the global
public images of the two countries and describes PRC and U.S. uses of soft power
tools, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance. It also
examines other forms of soft power such as military diplomacy, global trade and
investment, and sovereign wealth funds. In Part Three, the report analyzes PRC and
U.S. diplomatic and economic activities in five developing regions — Southeast
Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America."

China’s Foreign Policy: What Does It Mean for U.S. Global Interests?
"Since the late 1990s, China’s robust international engagement has caught many
by surprise and prompted growing American debate over the PRC’s motivations and
objectives. This international engagement has expanded while the United States has
been preoccupied with its military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress
and other U.S. policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned that China’s
expanded international engagement could have its “soft power” projection and affect
U.S. economic and strategic interests."

U.S. - China Strategic Economic Dialogue Fact Sheets
"The following fact sheets were released today at the conclusion of meeting of the U.S. – China Strategic Economic Dialogue.

REPORTS

* U.S. Fact Sheet
* Joint U.S. – China Fact Sheet
* Joint U.S. – China Fact Sheet on 10-Year Energy and Environment Cooperation Framework"