Opinion | In the Xinjiang cotton row, principle has been hijacked for political profit

Name: Xinjiang, China’s top cotton producer
Uploaded: 2021-04-24T19:30:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 8 s
Description: Xinjiang, China’s top cotton producer

For the US in particular, ‘principle’ has become a byword for political profit, which can be coupled with financial profit to achieve supremacy

For the international brands stuck between making a financial profit and a government’s ‘political profit’, decisions have to be balanced very carefully

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A cotton picker in Hami, Xinjiang, on October 9, 2020. Photo: Chinatopix via AP

Liu Jun

Published: 3:30am, 25 Apr 2021Updated: 3:30am, 25 Apr 2021

China and Western countries have recently been trading barbs on several issues, each side citing inviolable principles. One critical issue revolves around cotton produced in Xinjiang, a major grower of high-quality cotton not only for the domestic market but also for international brands.

For the West, this is a human rights issue.

So-called evidence of forced Uygur labour and other human rights abuses have been produced. A group of Western governments including the United States have voiced concerns and even anger towards Beijing. Countries such as the US, Canada and the Netherlands have labelled Chinese policies in Xinjiang genocide, which is a highly explosive accusation.

In light of this, international brands have been urged to stand on the side of principle instead of profit, and boycotts of cotton and related products from Xinjiang have been advocated.

For China, this is about defending the truth.

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Xinjiang, China’s top cotton producer

Beijing has protested strongly against the misinformation and false claims in the Xinjiang cotton dispute. The array of videos and audio files produced can hardly be classified as findings; they only give information from one side. Mere stories cannot be treated as material evidence where there is a dearth of facts that can be verified and validated.