The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has formally called on US President Donald Trump and his administration to raise the issue of the Uyghur genocide in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region during President Xi Jinping's planned visit to Washington on 24 September 2026. The appeal also covers what the WUC describes as Beijing's systematic transnational repression of diaspora communities on American soil and beyond.

Background: US Recognition of the Genocide

The United States formally recognised the situation in Xinjiang as a genocide for the first time on 19 January 2021, according to the WUC. The US State Department reaffirmed that position in an official statement on 10 September 2026 — weeks ahead of Xi's scheduled Washington visit — signalling that the classification remains US policy.

What the WUC Is Demanding

WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun described the upcoming summit as a decisive diplomatic window. 'Xi's visit to Washington is a strategic moment to move beyond words of condemnation on the Uyghur genocide. The United States has been a strong and vocal ally to the Uyghur people, and Donald Trump has to use this opportunity to continue proving it,' Alawdun said.

The organisation is urging US leaders to demand that Beijing halt what it calls the 'genocide of Uyghurs and other human rights violations' and honour its international human rights obligations as a condition for normal bilateral relations.

Ongoing Repression Tactics, According to WUC

The WUC contends that while Chinese authorities have shifted their methods over time, millions of detained and disappeared individuals remain unaccounted for. The group specifically highlighted labour transfer programmes, which it says have grown in recent years, forcibly displacing Uyghur workers. It also pointed to the Ethnic Unity and Progressive Law, arguing that even basic expressions of religious and cultural identity have been criminalised under it.

'Labour transfer programs have increased in recent years, forcibly displacing Uyghur workers and coercing them into work. With the implementation of the Ethnic Unity and Progressive Law, even the most basic expressions of religious and cultural rights have been criminalised,' the WUC said.

Transnational Repression on US Soil

The WUC also accused the Chinese government of actively targeting diaspora communities in the United States, including Uyghur, Tibetan, Hong Kong, and broader Chinese diaspora groups, through intimidation and threats directed particularly at human rights activists. 'Such horrific atrocities necessitate a robust and coordinated response from the United States and the international community,' the group stated, urging Washington to press Beijing to end transnational repression operations on American territory.

Stakes for the Xi Visit

The 24 September meeting comes at a fraught moment in US-China relations, with trade, technology, and security tensions already defining the bilateral agenda. Human rights advocates argue that elevating the Xinjiang issue at the summit level — rather than leaving it to lower-level diplomatic channels — would carry measurable symbolic and legal weight. Whether the Trump administration chooses to make the genocide a centrepiece demand, or treats it as one item in a broader negotiating package, is expected to shape perceptions of Washington's credibility on human rights commitments going forward.