One of the most dismal years in the relationship between the United States and China since the Korean War has ended with President Joe Biden signing a law that effectively bans all trade with China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

The measure takes effect in June and follows a determination by the State Department that China's actions in Xinjiang, home to the country's largest population of Muslims, constitute crimes against humanity. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it signals the administration's commitment to combat forced labour, including in the context of an "ongoing genocide" there - a broad definition that includes violent attacks with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.