US’ annual China human rights review shorter, remains sharply critical

The US State Department’s annual review of China’s human rights record, released on Tuesday, was pared back as part of a broader restructuring of its country reports but still retained many of its most politically sensitive criticisms of Beijing’s conduct.

“Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year in China against predominantly Muslim Uygurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” the report said in its executive summary.

The China assessment, an extensive catalogue of Beijing’s alleged violations in the previous calendar year, is part of a package of department reports reviewing some 200 countries and territories based on standards enshrined in international human rights agreements.

Its release comes after a months-long delay amid controversy that the reports would substantially scale back long-standing critiques of certain forms of abuses or display bias against perceived US foes.

In recent years, the reports have been released in the spring, accompanied by a launch event led by the Secretary of State. This year – the first release under the second Donald Trump administration – no such event was held.

Intended to inform congressional decisions on foreign aid allocations and security assistance, the reports include some of the most comprehensive human rights reviews compiled by any single body in the world. They are also widely used in both US and international courts, particularly during asylum hearings.