Country risk profile · Global Slavery Index 2023
Forced labour risk in China
This profile describes structural risk conditions for companies sourcing from China. It says nothing about any individual supplier, and a high structural risk score is not an allegation that forced labour has occurred anywhere in your chain.
Estimated prevalence
4
people per 1,000 population estimated to be living in modern slavery (2021 reference year)
Prevalence rank
109 / 160
where 1 is the highest estimated prevalence in the index
Government response
40%
Weak government response
ILO Protocol P029
Not ratified
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, where recorded in our dataset
What the state response means for a buyer
Walk Free assesses the state response as weak. Buyers should assume limited practical recourse through state channels and plan their own verification.
In the Libera score, this tier adds 10 points of response gap on top of the prevalence component. The full weighting is published on the methodology page.
Import measures and sanctions recorded
- UFLPA rebuttable presumption (Xinjiang)
- UFLPA Entity List
Screening covers OFAC sanctions data and the DHS UFLPA Entity List, fetched when a supplier is screened. How UFLPA screening works.
Listed sectors
Sectors listed for China on the US DOL forced labour goods list.
Agriculture
intensity 90ILO: agriculture is a top forced-labour sector; most TVPRA-listed goods are agricultural
Fishing & seafood
intensity 88ILO/DOL: distant-water fishing combines isolation, debt bondage and document retention
Textile & garments
intensity 86DOL TVPRA: garments, cotton and footwear listed for many sourcing countries
Mining & minerals
intensity 82DOL TVPRA: extensive listings for ores, stones, gold and coal
Manufacturing & electronics
intensity 66ILO: manufacturing is a major share of private-economy forced labour; UFLPA exposure in electronics
A listing means goods in that sector have been reported as produced with forced or child labour somewhere in the country. It does not describe any particular supplier, site or shipment.
Risk is not proof
Country data describes structural conditions across an economy. It cannot tell you what is happening at one site this month, and it is never a finding about a supplier. In Libera, country risk sets the baseline; what changes a supplier's status is what is actually observed — live list matches, and confidential signals from the people doing the work.
Prevalence and government response figures are from the Global Slavery Index 2023, a static edition with a 2021 reference year. They are not updated in real time.
Other country profiles
Sources