Foreign companies told to steer clear of politics
Print Edition
Chinese officials yesterday said Sweden’s H&M and other foreign companies should not make rash moves or step into politics after the companies raised concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang, sparking a furious online backlash and boycotts.
H&M, Burberry, Nike, adidas and other Western brands have been hit by consumer boycotts in China since last week over comments about their sourcing of cotton in Xinjiang.
“I don’t think a company should politicize its economic behavior,” said Xu Guixiang, a Xinjiang government spokesman, yesterday. “Can H&M continue to make money in the Chinese market? Not anymore.”
“To rush into this decision and get involved in the sanctions is not reasonable. It’s like lifting a stone to drop it on one’s own feet,” he said.
Another spokesman, Elijan Anayat, pointed to a statement by shoe brand Skechers USA, that it failed to find evidence to support a report by an Australian think tank that one of its Chinese suppliers might use forced labor.
The supplier, Dong Guan Lu Zhou Shoes, confirmed some of its workforce are Uygurs but said they are free to leave, according to Skechers. It said the company has conducted multiple audits of the supplier since 2017 and has “no reason to believe that Lu Zhou is using any forced labor.”
“I believe they will be appreciated by Chinese customers and win greater (market) shares,” Elijan Anayat said.
He said he would welcome companies taking trips to the region’s cotton fields to see them for themselves. The wave of consumer boycotts in China has coincided with a coordinated set of sanctions imposed by Britain, Canada, the European Union and the United States last week over what they say are human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang.
“Their real purpose by fabricating the issue of genocide is to disrupt security and stability in China,” Anayat said.
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