Congress, Biden Administration Should Revoke PNTR for China
WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today released a statement calling on Congress and the Biden administration to impose trade and capital markets sanctions on China following a report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) accusing China of committing “serious human rights violations” that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” The U.S. government has determined that China’s human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in Xinjiang amount to genocide.
Despite pressure from the Chinese government to not publish it, the UN report strongly condemned China’s serious human rights abuses that have been well-documented by non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, researchers, journalists and academics for years. These crimes against humanity include massive concentration camps, physical and mental torture, slave labor, rape, massive displacement, forced sterilization to prevent population growth, and separation of children from their parents.
Importantly, the UN report recommends to the business community that it take “all possible measures to meet the responsibility to respect human rights across activities and business relationships.” However, the business community will not do so without legislative change.
“The UN report is a damning account of what the rest of the world has documented for years: China is committing genocide in Xinjiang,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA. “Immediately, Congress and the Biden administration should revoke Permanent Normal Trade Relations status with China, just as they did when Russia invaded Ukraine. They should also decouple China from our financial markets, including requiring the SEC to de-register Chinese companies from our stock markets and over the counter markets, and require mutual funds to exclude Chinese companies from their portfolios. The CCP is a criminal government that should be decoupled from the regular international order.”
