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Xinjiang
ChinaPolitics

Xinjiang cotton: why it is so hard to find out the truth about forced labour claims

  • The Chinese authorities have so far refused to allow diplomats or independent investigators to look into allegations of human rights abuses
  • The issue has become yet another flashpoint between China and the US, further complicating the situation

Reading Time:6 minutes
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Independent investigators have urged China to allow unfettered access to Xinjiang to look into allegations of forced labour. Illustration: Henry Wong
Mimi Lau

International pressure against China over its Xinjiang policies has gained traction in recent months, with China criticised over the treatment of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. China has denied allegations of forced labour and detention. We look at the issues in this series.

China has become increasingly forceful in its defence of what state media calls the “pure, white and flawless” cotton produced in its far western region of Xinjiang amid a growing international storm about forced labour.

It is the latest in a series of alleged human rights abuses against Uygurs and other Muslim minority groups in the region – charges Beijing has vehemently denied, insisting they are lies manufactured by anti-China forces.

The issue has become yet another flashpoint between China and the United States and on Saturday President Joe Biden urged the other Group of Seven countries to put more pressure on Beijing over the issue.

China has defended its policies as helping to develop the region’s economy and highlighted what it says are flaws and inconsistencies in the testimonies given by former Xinjiang residents.

It has also hit back against the Better Cotton Initiative, an industry certification group, after it emerged that it had stopped all field-level activities in Xinjiang last year, citing “sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses” that had “contributed to an increasingly untenable operating environment”.

Although the group deleted all references to forced labour from its website in the ensuing backlash, Beijing has challenged the Geneva-based group to prove its allegations.

SCMP Series
Spotlight on Xinjiang
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