Washington, October 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Trump administration has announced a series of measures targeting China across travel, biotechnology and university-linked organisations, citing concerns ranging from forced labour and national security to alleged intellectual property theft.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday added three Chinese companies — BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology, collectively associated with BGI Group — to the Entity List under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Effective October 29, the listing means US Customs and Border Protection will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by the companies are prohibited from entering the United States. DHS alleged that BGI Genomics conducts genetic testing in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in cooperation with regional authorities and that the testing is used to facilitate forced labour.
Separately, DHS suspended the Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which had allowed prescreened Chinese nationals to visit the US Pacific territory without a visa. The suspension takes effect at 2 p.m. EDT on October 30 and also covers existing authorisations.
The department cited concerns including possible espionage near military facilities on Tinian and Guam, smuggling and birth tourism. More than 3,000 Chinese nationals used the programme in fiscal year 2025, according to the notice.
In another move, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon had designated Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes and related campus centres as national security threats. He alleged that more than 80 organisations operating under different names across 30 universities had the same objective of obtaining intellectual property and influencing American students.
The Pentagon said security audits had resulted in more than 80 termination-related actions. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun rejected what Beijing described as smears and stigmatisation targeting Confucius Institutes.
The measures come amid wider US-China tensions, even as President Donald Trump said a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on nuclear weapons had been scheduled.
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