Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday China is sanctioning the U.S. intelligence data firm Kharon and two researchers as a countermeasure to U.S. sanctions over alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. Photo courtesy Chinese Foreign Ministry
China announced sanctions against the U.S. intelligence risk firm Kharon along with its research director and a human rights analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies in Washington.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during her Tuesday press conference that the sanctions were “countermeasures” in response to the U.S. sanctioning Chinese companies and officials over human rights issues in Xinjiang. Advertisement
Kharon provides data on investment risks, including data on forced Uyghur labor in China.
Under the sanctions Edmund Xu, Kharon’s director of investigations, and Nicole Morgret, a former researcher for the Center for Advanced Defense studies will be banned from entering China, Ning said while accusing the United States of spreading false stories about forced labor in Xinjiang.
“We again urge the U.S. to stop smearing China, cancel the illegal unilateral sanctions on Chinese officials and companies, and stop implementing wrongful acts such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. If the U.S. refuses to change course, China will not flinch and will respond in kind,” she said.
Kharon confirmed the sanctions in a statement, saying China had frozen its assets and the assets of one of its senior researchers in addition to prohibiting Chinese companies from working with the company. Advertisement
“Kharon has no presence in China and as a result the action is largely symbolic and will not impact its operations or ability to service its clients,” it said.
Kharon said companies rely on its forced labor data to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. It bans Xinjiang goods from entering the United States and imposes sanctions on entities that benefit from forced labor in China.
According to Kharon, the Chinese company Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group “participated in organized labor transfers in 2017 in which thousands of workers were transferred to work at various production facilities.”
Kharon said it has also identified Chinese sportswear companies, including Anta and Li-Ning, that have supply chain links to forced labor originating from Xinjiang.
Some of those companies, Kharon’s statement said, have signed lucrative endorsement deals with NBA players.
