Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, described the exchange in his 2020 book, The Room Where it Happened.

In 2019 conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi during a G20 meeting, Trump described the detainment and relocation of the Uighur people as “exactly the right thing to do.”

An estimated 2 to 3 million Uighur Muslims, an ethnic minority in China, are separated from their families and imprisoned across hundreds of concentration camps to undergo re-education and forced labor. Survivors have recounted people being regularly beaten, tortured, and murdered.

China’s Communist Party maintains that such measures are necessary to prevent terrorism.

Trump’s 2020 presidential opponent, Joe Biden, referred to China’s treatment of the Uighur people as genocide.

The Washington Post – Bolton says Trump didn’t just ignore human rights but encouraged China’s concentration camps
Business Insider – Trump told China’s president that building concentration camps for millions of Uighur Muslims was ‘exactly the right thing to do,’ former adviser says
Axios – Biden campaign says China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims is “genocide”
Wikipedia – Uyghurs
Wikipedia – Xinjiang re-education camps