The United States on Friday blacklisted three Chinese firms suspected of forcing ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in China to work in their factories.

COFCO Sugar Holding, Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group and Anhui Xinya New Materials were added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list, the US government said.

From 11 December, goods produced by the three firms will be barred from entering the US, bringing the number of designated companies in the list to 30.

This comes "as a result of the companies' participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups, including Uyghur minorities in the PRC," the Department of Homeland Security said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

COFCO Sugar Holding refines and produces sugar, Jingweida Technology makes devices like network transformers and radio frequency filters, while Xinya New Materials manufactures textile materials.

The US government and lawmakers in a number of other Western countries have labeled China's treatment of the Uyghur minority in the northwestern Xinjiang region as "genocide," although Beijing vehemently denies this.

According to rights groups, at least one million people, mostly members of Muslim minorities, have been incarcerated in the region and face widespread abuses, including forced sterilization of women and coerced labor.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act bans the import of all goods from the Xinjiang region unless companies offer verifiable proof that production did not involve forced labor.       

WITH AFP