In the first two months of 2024, the European Union (EU) has recorded a surge in the value of imports to the bloc from the Chinese region of Xinjiang, targeted by Brussels for its use of forced labor on the Uyghur minority, with Poland being the continent’s biggest importer from this region of China.
The increase reached 218% in January-February as compared to the first two months of 2023, according to the South China Morning Post.
The Hong Kong-based newspaper reported on Thursday that although China is not named in a law being drafted by Brussels to crack down on slave labor, it is aimed at the Xinjiang region. The EU has said that European entities have no reliable means of checking whether workplaces in Xinjiang are free of slave labor, or of preventing its use in such places in line with UN guidelines.
According to estimates by human rights organisations, a million Uyghurs are being held in re-education camps in China, where they are subjected to torture, slave labour and forced sterilisation.
Data from Chinese customs authorities show that in the first two months of 2024, the total value of EU imports from the region stood at USD 312 million, against USD 98 mln in the same period of 2023.
In terms of import value, the leader is Poland, which received at least USD 58 million of the total, mostly in the form of plastic products, Christmas decorations, and toys. Second and third places were taken by Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively.
At the EU level, the most commonly imported products were lithium-ion batteries, processed tomatoes, and small items whose value falls below the customs threshold.
In general terms, customs office data showed a 4.1% fall in the value of trade between the EU and China.
Beijing denies any persecution or human-rights violations in Xinjiang and also claims that firm action is needed to protect the region from separatism, terrorism and Islamic extremism.
The Hong Kong-based newspaper reported on Thursday that although China is not named in a law being drafted by Brussels to crack down on slave labor, it is aimed at the Xinjiang region. The EU has said that European entities have no reliable means of checking whether workplaces in Xinjiang are free of slave labor, or of preventing its use in such places in line with UN guidelines.
According to estimates by human rights organisations, a million Uyghurs are being held in re-education camps in China, where they are subjected to torture, slave labour and forced sterilisation.
Data from Chinese customs authorities show that in the first two months of 2024, the total value of EU imports from the region stood at USD 312 million, against USD 98 mln in the same period of 2023.
In terms of import value, the leader is Poland, which received at least USD 58 million of the total, mostly in the form of plastic products, Christmas decorations, and toys. Second and third places were taken by Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively.
At the EU level, the most commonly imported products were lithium-ion batteries, processed tomatoes, and small items whose value falls below the customs threshold.
In general terms, customs office data showed a 4.1% fall in the value of trade between the EU and China.
Beijing denies any persecution or human-rights violations in Xinjiang and also claims that firm action is needed to protect the region from separatism, terrorism and Islamic extremism.
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