China’s solar manufacturing industry has significantly adjusted its labor model in response to U.S. restrictions aimed at curbing forced labor, yet it remains deeply intertwined with state-organized labor transfers from Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations. The industry’s output and the scale of labor mobilization increased even after the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which specifically targets goods produced with forced labor.
According to recent findings, more than three million labor transfers involving Uyghurs and other ethnic groups occurred in 2025, marking the highest number recorded and revealing a sustained growth in this state-imposed labor system. This growth undermines the intended impact of the UFLPA, highlighting challenges in enforcing the law and the resilience of China’s labor and supply chain networks. Despite the United States blocking imports from major companies like Hoshine Silicon Industry due to forced labor concerns, exports from these producers have more than doubled within a few years, with the vast majority of their product still sourced from Xinjiang.
Authorities in China have revamped the labor deployment model to evade international scrutiny by eliminating overtly coercive features that once attracted global condemnation. Workers now enter formal agreements involving local governments and state-owned human resources firms, which enforce compliance with political ideology and mandate fixed-term employment contracts. This approach aims to present state labor transfers as legitimate employment, emphasizing metrics like high worker retention rates rather than signs of coercion. Government channels celebrate these arrangements as strategic partnerships to export labor, but experts argue that mandatory ideological alignment and strict employment conditions defy authentic labor market principles.
The solar industry’s core supplier, Hoshine Silicon Industry, exemplifies this trend. Despite U.S. import restrictions introduced after evidence of forced labor emerged, Hoshine’s production volume surged, fueled by labor policies that actively channel ethnic minority workers under state supervision. Official materials depict orchestrated send-offs of workers, binding contracts requiring ideological conformity, and government oversight designed to maintain workforce stability rather than worker freedom.
Such developments reflect a broader continuation of China’s state-imposed labor programs, which remain the largest forced labor system globally. The persistent expansion of labor placements and industrial output despite international legal barriers challenges enforcement mechanisms and underscores the complexities of disentangling global supply chains from forced labor practices in Xinjiang’s solar sector.