General

Global Network quoted Reuters news that on the morning of July 14th, US time, the US Senate passed a bill prohibiting US companies from importing products from China's Xinjiang region. The reason is still the "forced labor" that US politicians often talk about.

At present, the bill needs to be passed in the House of Representatives and finally submitted to the White House. Biden will take effect immediately after signing. According to the current US government's attitude towards China, it is only a matter of time before it is finally approved.

What is the impact on Xinjiang?

According to the 2020 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang’s foreign trade totaled 21.387 billion U.S. dollars throughout the year. The largest trading partner was Kazakhstan (75.826 billion yuan), followed by Russia (12.247 billion yuan) and Kyrgyzstan ( 10.262 billion yuan). The volume of import and export trade with the United States was only 6.681 billion yuan, accounting for 4.5%, and the value of goods exported to the United States was 4.528 billion yuan.

Data source: Urumqi Customs

From January to May this year, Xinjiang’s exports to the United States were only more than US$90 million, a year-on-year decline of 10%. During the same period, Xinjiang’s exports increased by more than 20% year-on-year. In addition, if the bill is finally approved, the value of goods exported to the United States this year will not exceed 300 million U.S. dollars, which will drop by more than 70% year-on-year.

However, from the perspective of trade dependence, with the exception of Kazakhstan, Xinjiang's foreign exports are more diversified, and the US sanctions have little impact.

From the perspective of export products, the main products are mechanical and electrical products and clothing. In 2020, exports of 34.996 billion yuan and 24.672 billion yuan were exported, accounting for more than 50%. Among them, mechanical and electrical products are mainly exported to countries along the “Belt and Road” and the European Union, accounting for more than 80% of total exports; clothing export markets are mainly in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia, which together account for more than 90% of total exports.