US lists China among worst human trafficking offenders

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday placed China on its global list of the worst offenders in human trafficking, a step that could aggravate tensions with Beijing that had eased under President Donald Trump.

The agency’s 2017 report on human trafficking upgraded the statuses of Myanmar, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Qatar, while leaving those of Russia, Cuba and Thailand unchanged.

The department dropped Iraq and Myanmar from a list of countries that recruit and use child soldiers, a change from 2016. U.S. officials have said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision to do so, disregarding recommendations of State Department experts and senior U.S. diplomats.