A report by Oliver McPherson-Smith at the America First Policy Institute accuses the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of conducting a genocide involving forced labor in the manufacturing of solar power components, and due to the World Bank's limited oversight, rigorous supervision is crucial to prevent U.S. taxpayer funds from supporting such products. McPherson-Smith, the director of the Center for Energy & Environment, released his report on Nov. 20.
According to McPherson-Smith's research report, the CCP has been committing genocide against Muslim-majority ethnic minority communities in Western China. This includes "extrajudicial killings, forced sterilizations, forced abortions, sexual violence, mass detentions and the destruction of cultural sites and places of worship." The CCP's push to dominate the global solar energy component supply chain intersects with this genocide, involving the use of forced ethnic minority labor in manufacturing. Multilateral organizations like the World Bank continue to source solar components from companies implicated in the Xinjiang genocide. McPherson-Smith suggests increased Congressional oversight to prevent American tax funds from being used to support this genocide.
The report said the CCP employs repression to enforce conformity among people of faith, particularly targeting the Muslim majority population in Xinjiang. This repression, characterized as a genocide by various international bodies, intensified in 2016 with the appointment of Chen Quanguo as the region's secretary. Approximately one million Chinese Muslims are estimated to be held in detention facilities, subjected to forced labor, ideological indoctrination and mass surveillance. The CCP's forced labor facilities in Xinjiang intersect with its industrial strategy. Chinese Muslims are coerced into producing inputs for solar panels, with Xinjiang being a key hub for the production of solar-grade polysilicon. Despite U.S. efforts to limit the importation of solar components produced with forced labor, challenges persist in ensuring ethical supply chains in the solar industry.
McPherson-Smith mentioned that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is a critical measure to curb goods tainted by forced labor in Xinjiang, but it has limitations. These include CBP releasing shipments into the U.S. based on claimed non-applicability, the narrow UFLPA Entity List, de minimis rule hindrances and transshipment challenges. The report also alleges the World Bank allocates funds without strong safeguards against forced labor in the global solar supply chain.
To address the risk of American taxpayer dollars supporting the ongoing genocide of ethnic minorities in Western China, the report makes policy recommendations, including repealing the Treasury Department's guidance prioritizing potentially tainted energy projects, implementing congressional oversight of U.S. participation in relevant organizations, mandating a study of the World Bank's support for solar projects and safeguards against forced labor and withholding financial support from entities lacking rigorous safeguards. These measures, while not ensuring an end to the genocide, align with domestic efforts to curb the flow of goods associated with the atrocities in Western China.
