After Swedish clothing brand H&M issued a statement refusing to use Xinjiang cotton, other well-known brands followed. At the same Time, the Chinese campaign to boycott the products that made the statement is rapidly expanding. Official propaganda quoted Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, as saying in the U.S. recently in the face of a U.S.-China dialogue that China does not eat this, replacing it with Xinjiang cotton does not eat this. However, China’s Ministry of Commerce today downplayed its urging to avoid politicizing commercial issues.
According to Reuters today, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang is completely false, the pure white cotton in Xinjiang can not be tarnished by any smear; hope that the enterprises concerned to respect the laws of the market, correct mistakes and avoid politicization of commercial issues. According to the Ministry of Commerce spokesman peak at a regular press conference, opposed to any external forces to interfere in Xinjiang affairs, opposed to false information based on lies; welcome foreign enterprises to Xinjiang field visits, but also willing to provide support and help for enterprises of all countries to carry out trade and investment in Xinjiang.
Gao Feng also stressed that China has always adhered to its independent foreign policy and respected the international relations of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and equality and mutual benefit, and that no matter how the external environment changes, China’s basic state policy of opening up to the outside world remains unchanged, and the door of opening up will become wider and wider in the future. In addition, he said that the necessary legal review work is currently being carried out by the negotiating departments of both sides of the China-EU investment agreement.
Reuters said the topic of sporting goods giant Nike’s boycott of Xinjiang cotton continued to fester on Chinese social media, and well-known Chinese artists were quick to cut their seats with it. Top flow star Wang Yibo and actress Tan Songyun announced one after another to terminate all cooperation with the brand “NIKE”.
Nike, a global member of BCI Good Cotton, said in a statement still on its official website that the company adheres to international labor standards and is concerned about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. Nike does not source products from Xinjiang, and the company has confirmed with contract suppliers that they do not use textiles or staple yarns from the region.
The European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved in Xinjiang on Monday, and China quickly countered by imposing sanctions on European lawmakers and others.
There was also a wave of outrage in Chinese social media on Wednesday after China’s Communist Youth League Central Committee and official media strongly criticized Swedish apparel retailer H&M for having said in the past that it was “deeply concerned” about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. Artists Huang Xuan and Song Xi, who have had business relationships with H&M, have issued statements saying they no longer have a relationship with H&M.
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