U.S. government officials said Wednesday American companies with continued businesses and investments with China's Xinjiang province might face legal consequences.
Officials said companies should immediately cut ties with the region's supply chain.
The warning was issued in a joint statement by the State Department, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
"Businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating U.S. law," the statement said.
The advisory expands on previous warnings issued by the U.S. government, citing growing evidence of genocide and other atrocities perpetrated by China against the region's Uyghur Muslims and other minorities.
Officials said American companies that continue to do business or invest in the region are involved in human rights violations. Officials said companies with operations linked to the Chinese government in Xinjiang - even indirectly - could face stiff sanctions and immediate legal action.
"The People's Republic of China government continues its horrific abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and elsewhere in China, targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and ethnic Kyrgyz who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups," State Department representative, Ned Price, said Wednesday.
Price said the minorities in the region are facing abuses such as "state-sponsored forced labor and intrusive surveillance, forced population control measures and separation of children from families and mass detention."
Last week, the Biden administration added 14 more Chinese companies to its growing economic blacklist. The companies were accused of being involved in the alleged human rights abuses and intrusive surveillance. Apart from companies, the U.S. had also targeted Chinese officials with sanctions for their roles in the alleged human rights abuses.
China has repeatedly denied the U.S.'s allegations, stating it was not guilty of committing genocide against the Uyghur people. The country's foreign ministry called the allegations "malicious lies" by the U.S. aimed at hindering China's development.
