Biden raised genocide and forced labor with Xi, White House says

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks virtually with Chinese leader Xi Jinping from the White House in Washington, U.S. November 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks virtually with Chinese leader Xi Jinping from the White House in Washington, U.S. November 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden raised genocide and forced labor issues with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in their phone call earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing.

In 2021, the US government and parliament, as well as countries including Britain and Canada have described China’s birth prevention and mass detention policies in Xinjiang, where the ethnic minority group Uyghurs are, as genocide.

However, some academics and politicians say there is insufficient evidence of intent by Beijing to destroy an ethnic population in part or full to meet the threshold for a genocide determination.

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