China's Labor Transfer Programs Continue to Expand in Xinjiang, Report Says
China continues to expand its labor transfer programs for Uyghurs and other minorities, despite a recognition in the U.S. and elsewhere that the programs are a form of forced labor, a new report from the Jamestown Foundation said. "State work plans for this year mandate an intensification of employment requirements for the region’s targeted ethnic groups, and official labor transfer statistics reflect heightened work requirements first introduced in 2021," the report said. "Xinjiang’s focus on these requirements intensifies the region’s forced labor risk, extending it into higher-skilled sectors while concealing its coercive nature."
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China's Poverty Alleviation Through Labor Transfer program continues to expand and other "poverty alleviation" practices will continue through 2025, the report said. In 2023, Xinjiang expanded the "Pairing Assistance program," which facilitates labor transfers across provinces, by 38%, the report said. By the end of the third quarter in 2023, China had a labor transfer volume of 3.05 million "person-times," which was higher than the entirety of 2022.
The Chinese government has been accused of going out of its way to evade forced labor laws and making its supply chains less transparent, including deleting social media posts showing activity with labor transfer programs (see 2402060056). There also has been a more permanent "labor transfer arrangement" whereby 295 Uyghurs received a "relocation of household registration."
"This is a significant and concerning development, given that labor transfers are part of state efforts to 'optimize' (i.e. reduce) the Uyghur population ratio in southern Xinjiang, in order to 'end the dominance of the Uyghur ethnic group' in their own homeland," the report said. The report cited higher-level "policy and state planning documents" and trends from 2023 and early 2024.