U.S. Commerce Dept. warns firms of human rights abuse risks in China's Xinjiang province

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday issued an advisory warning U.S. companies about the risks they face from maintaining supply chains associated with human rights abuses in China's western Xinjiang province.

The advisory seeks to add more U.S. pressure on China at a time of heightened tensions over China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang and Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong. Commerce said that companies doing business in Xinjiang or with entities using Xinjiang labor face "reputational, economic, and legal risks" from human rights abuses, including forced labor, mass detention and forced sterilization.