C4ADS Long Shadows (Xinjiang)

Companies perpetrating forced labor and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) are enmeshed in global trade and finance despite severe multilateral sanctions designed to cut them off from international markets. This is a result of their integration with the corporate, trade, and financial landscape within Xinjiang, China, and the greater region. This report uses the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC)—a regional governing body with a vast commercial network—as a test case to better understand how perpetrators of human rights abuse in Xinjiang retain access to international markets. Analysis of publicly available information reveals that sanctions and international outrage have been insufficient in preventing the XPCC from accessing global markets, allowing it to continue profiting from forced labor and other forms of oppression.