Two letters recently submitted to the United Nations by different groups of Ambassadors reveal deeply conflicting views of the same situation: conditions at the education and training centers in Xinjiang. A closer look reveals that, as opposed to the dominant view in the west, the education and training centers both uphold the human rights of their participants and have been effective in curbing terrorism.

The US’s attempts to use Xinjiang as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations is a poor strategic move. Given President Trump’s checkered human rights history, the US will face difficulty in trying to rally international support around the Xinjiang issue.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region during a visit to Beijing last week, a U.N. spokesman said on Monday.

Diplomatic mission coincides with resumption of trade talks in Washington.

China publishes a white paper titled "The Fight Against Terrorism and Extremism and Human Rights Protection in Xinjiang."

Deng Xiaoping’s inability to truly liberalize China has imposed enduring costs on the country. Four decades after initiating economic reform, China finds itself at a crossroads, with its future trajectory uncertain.

Though it might be simple for China to wait out the Trump presidency in order to make a new trade deal with a new president, it would not be in its best interest to do so. From reforming issues like state-subsidies, intellectual property and legal reciprocity to strengthening the relationship between China and the U.S., it is evident that waiting carries more risk than opportunities.

Relations between China and much of the West appear to be moving in reverse. The PRC risks losing its best friends abroad.

Neighbourhood diplomacy is becoming a foreign policy priority for official Beijing, and demonstrates that China is willing to undertake the role of mediator in Afghanistan and accelerate regional efforts to bring all relevant parties to the negotiating table.

Strained relations between the Uyghur community in Xinjiang and the Chinese government have led to increasing instability, which hinders China’s larger goals to increase trade with Central Asia and the Middle East. China's New Silk Road strategy may provide an opportunity for the CCP and Uyghur leaders to strike an uneasy bargain, albeit one that can halt the cycle of repression and retaliatory violence.