China’s new ‘Air Silk Road’ brings thousands of tons of goods from Xinjiang to Europe
July 31, 2025 | Politico
[…]More than nine cargo companies have established routes from Xinjiang to the U.K., Germany, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Spain and other European destinations, according to a new analysis of air freight data by the Washington advocacy group Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) shared with POLITICO.
[…]“The rapid expansion of air cargo routes between the Uyghur Region and Europe poses a growing threat to the integrity of EU and U.K. supply chains,” according to the UHRP report, which tracked 12 months of cargo flight traffic from June 2024 to May this year. Its analysis shows the flights are carrying e-commerce goods, textiles, footwear, electronics, auto parts and agricultural products — all sectors exposed to the risk of Uyghur forced labor.
[…]Before June 2024, only two cargo routes from Ürümqi to Europe were identified by the Uyghur Human Rights Project’s analysis of public flight data. Dozens now reach Europe directly and with stopovers. The largest number of air freight flights tracked by UHRP arrived in the U.K. with 313 carrying e-commerce and other goods, followed by Hungary with 162 cargo arrivals.
“Europe’s commitment to eradicating forced labor from supply chains must extend beyond policy declarations,” said UHRP’s Director of Research, Henryk Szadziewski. “Every uninspected shipment from Ürümchi [Ürümqi] represents a failure to act — and China’s new ‘Air Silk Road’ brings thousands of tons of goods from Xinjiang to Europe – Every uninspected shipment from Ürümchi [Ürümqi] represents a failure to act and a potential violation of Uyghur human rights.”
Cited: Report by Peter Irwin and Dr. Henryk Szadziewski (Manifest Risk: New “Air Silk Road” Cargo Flights Carry Risk of Uyghur Forced Labor into Europe).
Read the full article: https://www.politico.eu/article/china-new-air-silk-road-tons-goods-xinjiang-europe-uyghur-us-uk-forced-labour-trade/