FILE PHOTO: Security guards stand at the gates of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Huocheng County in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 3, 2018.REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
July 9, 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add at least 10 more Chinese companies and other entities to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters.
The U.S. Commerce Department action will follow its announcement last month adding five other Chinese entities to the blacklist over forced labor allegations in Xinjiang.
The new additions to Commerce Department’s Entity List are part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to hold China accountable for human rights violations, the sources said.
The exact number of entities being added or their identities were not immediately known. Some companies from other countries are also set to be added to the blacklist as soon as Friday.
The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
