Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) walk together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, April 7, 2017.
The United States plans to place China on its global list of worst offenders in human trafficking and forced labor, said a congressional source and a person familiar with the matter, a step that could aggravate tensions with Beijing that have eased under President Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has decided to drop China to Tier 3, the lowest grade, putting it alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria among others, the sources told Reuters. The rating is expected to be announced on Tuesday in an annual report published by the State Departments Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
