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What can be done
China's campaign of racial and religious oppression against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang is simply another bullet point on their resume of human rights violations. In order to bring about justice and change, it needs to start externally.
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Economic Pressure
One of the main components of any country is its economy. Utilizing the U.S.'s sphere of influence and its economic prowess, the U.S. can enact change in China via economic pressure. In conjunction with various western nations opposed to China's humanitarian violations as well as enemies of China in Asia such as Vietnam as well as Asian economic powers like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, the U.S. can organize economic sanctions on behalf of all of these nations. President Trump's recent trade war cost the US approximately $14 billion in comparison to China losing $54 billion. If this were to be implemented on an international scale with the cooperation of multiple nations, China would suffer a loss close to 20% of its GDP. Moreover, these sanctions can extend to close allies of China such as Russia and Pakistan to force the issue at hand.
U.N. Condemnation
Aside from economics, politics is a powerful tool, especially in the sense of relevancy. Using the U.N. as a public platform to the world, the U.S. must continue to acknowledge and condemn the internment of the Uyghur Muslims in China. Part of China's initiative to spread its influence across the world and be a world power is the international perception/opinion of China. They are deeply concerned over the world's view of China and desire positive perception, as evident in their mass censorship of material they deem "inappropriate" or "slanderous". Thus, condemning China on the international stage alongside nations that oppose China's actions will continue to dampen their image and dissolve additional nations from their sphere of influence.
Diversify Manufacturing from only China
Although human rights abuses are those of China, relying on China has a major source of our manufacturing is enabling their actions. Making China the center of our foreign manufacturing is enabling funding for China's crackdown of Xinjiang. If the U.S. were to move manufacturing to countries such as Vietnam, companies seeking cheap labor would be able to keep that incentive as well as take away economic leverage from China and place it in the hands of more U.S. friendly nations. This would reduce China's status as the manufacturing capital of the world and bring leverage to the U.S. negotiations of Uyghur treatment and human rights in China.
Withhold Subsidies from U.S. Companies
In addition to moving manufacturing, encouraging U.S. companies to move their production from China is also important. Many companies in the U.S. have based their means of production in China as a result of cheap labor, empowering China's economy and entrenching its beliefs in its human rights violations. Therefore, in order to motivate change in China, we again need to target their wallets by reflecting on our own.
The U.S. currently spends $59 billion on corporate subsidies and the implementation of corporate tax cuts will save companies an upwards of $1.39 trillion. Thus, by making these cuts and subsidies with strings attached, the U.S. can encourage companies to move away from Chinese influence, damaging their economy and forcing them to adhere to the human rights of Uyghurs.
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