The USA has added 43 Chinese companies to its Uyghur forced labour prevention act entity list, increasing the total from 144 to 187. The law restricts imports linked to China's Xinjiang region, due to concerns about forced labour. Newly listed firms span industries including electronics, cotton, food processing and metals. China has strongly condemned the decision, calling it economic coercion disguised as law enforcement and rejecting allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang. Beijing argued the move undermined recent discussions aimed at stabilising US-China economic relations after senior officials from both countries held talks. Chinese representatives insisted Xinjiang’s cotton industry is highly mechanised and that workers freely choose their employment, while promising measures to protect affected companies. The dispute highlights continuing disagreement over human rights, trade and economic policy between the world’s two largest economies, with both sides maintaining sharply different positions on the allegations and their wider implications.