What is known about the 'forced labor' allegations that prevent Ziđin from exporting copper from Serbia to the US? 

Ljudmila Cvetković 

Sonja Gočanin 

Summary 

US Customs has blocked the import of copper and copper products from the Chinese company Zijin Koper to Serbia due to suspicions of forced labor. 

The non-governmental organization China Labor Watch says that its field research has also documented forced labor at the company. 

Zijin Koper says it opposes all forms of forced labor, and that the company is conducting an audit and assessment of relevant issues. 

Serbian authorities have not commented. 

Withholding of personal documents, employment deposits, excessive working hours without adequate rest, unsafe working conditions and restrictions on freedom of movement. 

Such forced labor at the Chinese Zijin Copper in Bor, eastern Serbia, was documented by the non-governmental organization China Labor Watch (CLW). 

Their research preceded the decision of the US Customs Service to prevent the import of copper and copper products from Zijin Koper due to suspicions of forced labor. 

Following that decision, Zijin Koper announced that it opposes all forms of forced labor, as well as conducting a comprehensive review and assessment of relevant issues. 

Serbian institutions had not responded to RFE/RL's inquiries by the time of publication. 

Zijin companies have been the largest exporters from Serbia in recent years, and Serbia has been open to Chinese capital as the authorities build friendly relations with the Chinese state leadership. 

Zijin Koper in Bor and Majdanpek, eastern Serbia, employs over six thousand workers. 

It was founded in 2018 by taking over the Bor Mining and Smelting Basin, in which Zijin Mining has a controlling stake of 63 percent and the state of Serbia 37 percent. 

Before Zijin, US customs prevented the import of car tires from China's Linglong in Zrenjanin, in the north of the country, also due to the use of forced labor. 

"This shows that this is not an isolated incident, but problems that require a systemic response from institutions," warns Marija Andjelković of the non-governmental organization Astra. 

China Labor Watch: We interviewed more than 100 workers 

Li Qiang, founder and CEO of CLW, tells RFE/RL that they have conducted multiple field investigations in Serbia since 2022. 

They have interviewed more than 100 workers and collected significant additional documentation, testimonies and information. 

CLW investigates working conditions and labor rights violations, particularly in Chinese companies and projects abroad. 

Li said that they had identified multiple indicators of forced labor in Zijin Koper as defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO). 

As he said, these investigations formed the basis for a forced labor report they submitted to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. 

CBP said on June 16 that it had analyzed worker statements, photographs, field notes from focus groups, screenshots of text messages, publicly available NGO reports, news reports, and academic research. 

They said there were six indicators of forced labor that workers at Ziđin Koper were exposed to. 

These were abuse of vulnerability, withholding wages, intimidation and threats, restriction of movement, withholding of identity documents, and excessive overtime. 

Ziđin Koper said it was taking the situation very seriously and was conducting a comprehensive review and assessment of the relevant issues. 

The statement said the company remained committed to complying with applicable laws, "including U.S. laws, as well as internationally recognized labor and human rights standards related to the prevention of forced labor." 

Marija Andjelković from Astra says that the police and prosecutor's office are obliged under the Palermo Protocol and the Council of Europe Convention to investigate allegations of forced labor and investigate possible human trafficking. 

The police and the competent prosecutor's office had not commented by the time of publication of this text. The Ministry of Labor did not respond to RFE/RL's inquiry. 

'Invisible workers' 

The 2024 China Labor Watch report "Invisible Workers: Working Conditions of Foreign Workers in Serbia" cites several testimonies from workers at the company "Zijin Copper" about working conditions. 

The workers complained that they were working 12 hours a day even though their contract stated a working time of eight hours, and that overtime was not recorded. 

The complaints also related to health and social insurance. 

As they claim, workers are responsible for their own health needs and are expected to pay for medical care and work-related injuries themselves. 

The report also states that China Labor Watch researchers traveled to Bor in 2024 and verified claims that mine workers were restricted in their movement. 

"Restrictions were in place to prevent Chinese workers from leaving their work premises, and their movement was completely restricted within the mine boundaries," it states. 

The report notes that the situation of Chinese workers in Serbia is made more difficult in part by the implementation of a 2018 bilateral agreement between China and Serbia. 

It says that, under it, Serbian laws are temporarily suspended for Chinese citizens during the first five years of their stay in Serbia. 

According to the 2018 Agreement on Social Security between the Governments of Serbia and China, Chinese companies operating in Serbia can bring in workers from that country and not be subject to Serbian laws for "sixty calendar months." 

The CLW report states that "the labor inspectorate (in Serbia) is not authorized to review the contracts of Chinese workers or determine whether they have been paid." 

Li told RFE/RL that CLW continued to collect additional evidence, worker testimonies, and analysis in support of the case during the US CBP investigation. 

He also stated that the allegations of forced labor do not only apply to workers who are Chinese citizens, but also to migrant workers from other countries. 

What will the US Customs decision affect? 

The US Customs and Border Protection Agency stated that trade data shows that Ziđin's goods are being imported or are likely to be imported into the US. 

Data on which countries Ziđin Koper exports to does not exist in publicly available financial reports. 

According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, in 2025 Serbia exported copper most to the European Union countries, China and Turkey, and the value of exports to these countries is measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The value of copper exports to the United States in 2025 was about 13 million dollars. 

Marija Andjelković from Astra points out that the US customs decision is not an issue of trade relations between Serbia and the US. 

"But as a warning that the protection of workers' rights and the prevention of forced labor must become a much higher priority," she said. 

She added that in economic terms, the decision will not have a serious impact on Ziđin Koper "since their exports to America are small in percentage terms, and the largest are to China - 90 percent. 

"But it sends a signal to countries that want to do business responsibly and in accordance with human rights that something is wrong here," she assessed. 

Previous warnings 

Astra has been warning for years about the risks of labor exploitation and human trafficking among migrant workers on large infrastructure and industrial projects in Serbia. 

"We have documented numerous cases of withholding wages, withholding of personal documents, threats of deportation, inhumane working and housing conditions, and unpaid overtime," said Andjelković. 

She also warned that Astra has been recording a higher number of reports of sexual exploitation in recent years, specifically from the Bor region. 

RFE/RL reported on the verdict of the Higher Court in Zaječar, in eastern Serbia, which was handed down for human trafficking involving Chinese citizens. 

The verdict became final in 2025, and the court convicted 52-year-old Chinese citizen Y.L. of human trafficking, sentencing him to four years in prison. 

According to the verdict, two women from China were victims of human trafficking in Bor, eastern Serbia. 

China's Zijin has been accused of environmental pollution for years, which the company denies. 

Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced, during a recent state visit to Beijing, new Chinese investments and further strengthening of relations between the two countries. 

Serbia is intensifying economic and cooperation with China on infrastructure projects, but recently also military cooperation through the purchase of Chinese weapons. 

This strengthening of the "steel friendship", as the official Beijing and Belgrade call the relationship, is happening despite warnings from Brussels, while Serbia is a candidate for EU membership, and from Washington as well. 

They were forced by a Chinese citizen under threat of death to provide sexual services to other Chinese citizens in that city. 

Y.L. was arrested in Bor, but the verdict does not mention any links to the mining industry. 

RFE/RL also reported in 2021 on the poor working conditions of Chinese workers at the Zijin-owned "Čukaru Peki" mine in Bor. 

The workers then sent RFE/RL footage and photos from the camp where they were housed, illustrating the very poor conditions, that the toilets were very dirty and that a large number of people were using them. 

They also claimed that they faced restrictions on movement and intimidation, as well as overtime work. 

Several workers claimed that their employer was not allowing them to leave the substandard camp where they were housed, and that they were prohibited from contact with the population in Serbia. 

The company "Jinshan Construction" owned by "Zidjin" then publicly denied the workers' claims about poor housing conditions and, in response to RFE/RL's reporting, sent the media photographs of better conditions than those the workers were testifying to.