UN’s Xinjiang human rights report expected to further strain relations between China and West

The United Nations report into Xinjiang, which found that the Chinese government’s actions “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity” is likely to place further strains on the relationship between China and the West, according to diplomatic analysts.

Beijing bluntly rejected the findings, which were released on Wednesday, the last day of Michelle Bachelet’s tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The report, which followed Bachlet’s visit to the far-western region in May, linked Beijing’s employment policies to forced labour and said it found evidence of torture in detention camps.