Washington: By a vote of 428 to 1, the US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday prohibiting imports from China's Xinjiang region created with forced labour and threatening punishment against Chinese officials who persecute the minority group.

The measure was introduced just days after the United States launched a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in protest of human rights violations in Xinjiang. The bill, which was passed on Wednesday, aims to ensure that "goods created using forced labour in the People's Republic of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region do not enter the US market."

According to the American news website Axios, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act compels corporations to establish with "clear and persuasive proof" that imports from Xinjiang are not created with forced labour. For the measure to take effect, it must now pass the Senate and be approved by the US President.

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