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PRESS RELEASE: WUC Urges President Donald Trump to Raise the Uyghur Genocide During Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington
Press Release – For immediate Release
18 September 2026
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org+49 89 5432 1999 or contact@uyghurcongress.org
On September 24, Chinese President Xi Jinping will undertake a visit to the United States, his first since 2023. In light of this visit, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) urges US President Donald Trump and the US government to seize this opportunity to privately and publicly raise the Uyghur genocide.
The United States has a strong record of supporting the Uyghur cause and drawing international attention to China’s repression of Uyghurs in East Turkistan and abroad. On January 19, 2021, the United States formally recognized the situation as genocide for the first time. This position was reaffirmed in an official State Department statement on September 10, 2026, just a few weeks before Xi’s visit. The United States also enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in 2021, establishing a presumption that goods produced in East Turkistan using forced labor are prohibited from entering the US market unless importers can demonstrate compliance with the law. This measure has been complemented by the Entity List, which restricts exports to designated entities. As of today, the list includes 187 entities, following its largest-ever expansion in July 2026, when 43 companies were added. Together, these measures demonstrate the United States’ role as a partner in supporting Uyghur communities both within and outside its borders, as well as its continued commitment to advancing Uyghur rights.
“Xi’s visit to Washington is a strategic moment to move beyond words of condemnation on the Uyghur genocide,” said WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun. “The United States has been a strong and vocal ally to the Uyghur people, and Donald Trump has to use this opportunity to continue proving it.”
While WUC acknowledges the United States’ efforts for publicly raising the Uyghur genocide, both at the national and international level, more needs to be done. Whilst the repression tactics have changed, millions of detained and disappeared individuals still remain unaccounted for. Labour transfer programs have increased in recent years, forcibly displacing Uyghur workers and coercing them into work. With the implementation of the Ethnic Unity and Progressive Law, even the most basic expressions of religious and cultural rights have been criminalized. The Chinese government has also been actively trying to disrupt diaspora communities abroad, by intimidating, threatening Uyghurs abroad, particularly human rights activists on US soil. Such horrific atrocities necessitate a robust and coordinated response from the United States and the international community. The US now has the opportunity to take a principled stance and enact real change. WUC calls on President Donald Trump and his Administration to substantively and meaningfully raise the Uyghur genocide in their discussions with Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials during their visit to Washington. We call on these leaders to demand that China stop its genocide of Uyghurs and other human rights violations and to honor its human rights obligations in order to have normal relations with China.
The World Uyghur Congress therefore calls on the United States and Donald Trump to:
Substantively raise the Uyghur genocide and other serious human rights violations during official discussions with China, as well as in all future bilateral engagements.
Press the Chinese government to end its policies of repression and systemic human rights abuses in East Turkistan, and to fully implement the international labor rights conventions it has recently ratified, including International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour and ILO Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labour.
Press the Chinese government to end its policies of transnational repression, including and especially in the US territory, in order to protect the American Uyghur, Tibetan, Hong Kong, and Chinese diaspora communities.
Press for family reunification of Uyghur-Americans with their disappeared or missing relatives, including for the children of Dr. Rahila Dawut, Ilham Tohti, Dr. Gulshan Abbas and Yalqun Rozi, residing in the United States.
(c) 2026, Uyghur Congress
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