US Congress approves sanctions on China over ethnic crackdown on Uighurs

Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uighur people are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a floor speech in support of the bill

Congress has voted to toughen the US response to a brutal Chinese crackdown on ethnic minorities, adding another factor to the increasingly stormy relationship between the two countries.

The House passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the mass surveillance and detention of Uighurs and other ethnic groups in the western Xianjiang region, a campaign that has drawn muted international response because of China's influence around the world.

The measure already passed the Senate and needs a signature from President Donald Trump, who said this week he'll "very strongly" consider it