Washington, DC [US], October 4 : China's communist regime has once again been designated among the world's worst human trafficking offenders, according to the US State Department's 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
The annual assessment kept China in Tier 3, the lowest category, citing the regime's ongoing use of state-imposed forced labour and its failure to make significant progress toward eliminating human trafficking, The Epoch Times reported.
According to The Epoch Times, the report accuses the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of maintaining a "policy or pattern" of widespread forced labour, particularly targeting Uyghurs and other religious or ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
The document highlights mass detention facilities and state-run reeducation camps where millions are subjected to labour exploitation under the guise of "vocational training."
The report also exposes Beijing's growing campaign of transnational repression, which includes using surveillance, harassment, and threats to force the repatriation of minorities abroad. Such repatriations often lead to their detention and forced labour upon return.
Since 2020, under a congressional mandate, the US government has been required to identify countries where trafficking or state-sponsored forced labour persists. China has appeared on this list every year since, alongside nations such as Afghanistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria.
An estimated 3.9 million people worldwide are currently subjected to forced labour in state-controlled sectors, the report noted, citing data from the International Labour Organization.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his written introduction to the report, urged governments to take stronger measures to combat human trafficking and ensure accountability for those who ignore the problem.
"Human trafficking is a horrific and devastating crime that benefits criminal enterprises and oppressive regimes," Rubio stated, as cited by The Epoch Times.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, commended the report for confronting nations like China that perpetuate forced labour.
"We must redouble global efforts to protect victims and ensure traffickers, especially those backed by authoritarian governments, face justice," Smith said, as reported by The Epoch Times.
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