Germany's Volkswagen Group and its Chinese partner have sold a factory in the Xinjiang region of China, where accusations of forced labor dogged the facility for many years.

The automaker has long been criticized by human rights activists for doing business in the territory, where China has repressed Muslim ethnic groups.

Earlier this year, the U.S. blocked imports of several Porsche, Bentley, and Audi vehicles amid concerns that they contained a Chinese-made part that violated U.S. forced labor laws.