White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday (March 26), “We believe that the international community should oppose China’s (the Chinese Communist Party) weaponization of private companies’ dependence on it (China) as a way to stifle free expression and suppress ethical business practices.”
After European and American countries imposed sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party in response to human rights issues in Xinjiang, the Communist Party has driven a national boycott of some Western multinational companies that have abandoned the use of Xinjiang cotton. On Friday (March 26), the White House responded by criticizing the CCP for profiting from human rights abuses.
The White House said the U.S. government is closely monitoring the issue of forced labor (by the Chinese Communist Party) after U.S. and other international companies were attacked by Chinese consumers for pledging not to use Xinjiang cotton.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday, “We believe the international community should oppose China’s (Communist Party of China) weaponization of private companies’ reliance on its (Chinese) market as a way to stifle free expression and suppress moralizing business practices.”
Psaki made the remarks in response to reports that Beijing is suppressing pledges not to use products from forced labor companies.
“It’s something that we’re watching closely,” she said. “I hope to have more responses from the State Department and the Commerce Department on this later today.”
As of Friday, many prominent international retail brands were being strongly boycotted by Chinese consumers who took to social media to post statements from those international brands announcing they would stop sourcing from Xinjiang.
Several Chinese celebrities have dropped endorsements from several foreign retail brands, and six U.S. brands, including Nike, have been released from their contracts. Because of Western criticism of the Communist Party’s human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang, the Communist Party has provoked Chinese nationalism in return, leading to some consumer boycotts.
Nike’s Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger and Converse are among the international brands being boycotted, having issued statements saying they would not use cotton produced in western China because of forced labor factors.
The boycott of brands from at least five countries – Sweden, Spain, the United States, Germany and Japan – is the largest number of countries that have been boycotted in China in the past.
Kyle Bass, founder of Hayman Capital and a leading U.S. hedge fund mogul, told Fox News Thursday (March 25), “I think it’s important from a national security perspective and a moral perspective that our government avoid doing business with countries that have committed genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. conducting business.”
On Monday (22), the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada imposed sanctions on several Chinese Communist Party officials involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and in January, Washington announced a ban on all imports of cotton and tomato products from the region on the grounds that they were made from the forced labor of detained Uighur Muslims.
In January, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Chinese Communist Party of committing “genocide” against Uighurs in Xinjiang. Also in January, the U.S. government announced it was halting imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang province. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials said they would block any imports suspected of being related to forced labor.
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