The Facts
China on Tuesday announced the imposition of sanctions on Los Angeles-based data firm Kharon for providing evidence on alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. The move came after the US put curbs on three Chinese firms earlier this month, after Kharon claimed they forcefully deployed thousands of laborers in 2017.
Denying its involvement in any labor abuse, China stated that sanctions under its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law will also target two US analysts: Edmund Xu of Kharon, and Nicole Morgret of the US-China Economic And Security Review Commission.
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
Over the years, the US has conjured up vivid fantasies of human rights abuses by China. Based on this sophistry, it has sought to interfere in domestic Chinese matters. All this has been done in violation of international law, with the intent of tarring China's image. The US's private sector has been hand-in-glove in this stratagem and China will not take it lying down.
Anti-China narrative
China can sabre-rattle all it wants, but it is well-established that Xinjiang is the backdrop to mass abuse. "Re-education" has, over the years, upended the lives of millions of Muslim Uyghur people who have been herded into correctional camps. These Turkic-speaking minorities have been subjected to untold miseries. It is well within international norms for the US and its companies to expose these practices, and consequently curb them.
