Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:47, 3 May 2021

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The autonomous region of Xinjiang is the leading producer of cotton in China, accounting for a fifth of the world's cotton production. Several critics of the Chinese Government have alleged human rights abuses in the industry, prompting boycotts from around the world.

History

The cotton industry has a long history in Xinjiang, with cotton having been grown in the region since the 1st millennium AD.

At the turn of the 20th century, Xinjiang was largely a producer of raw goods, including cotton. Over one third of the region's exports to Russia in 1902 were of cotton cloth. The Russian Revolution coincided with a decrease in cotton exports from Xinjiang to Russia, significantly harming the cotton industry and the local economy as a whole. Throughout the lattermost portions of the 20th century, the government of China sought to turn Xinjiang into a regional cotton-producing powerhouse, with cotton harvests increasing between 1977 and 1997 by a factor of 27 to grow to a total yield of 1.5 million tons. Xinjiang had become the largest cotton-producing province in China during the 1990s and produced over one-quarter of all of China's domestically grown cotton by 2001. During the 1990s, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps began to contribute significantly to Xinjiang's economy, being responsible for 40% of the region's cotton production in 1997.

In 2003 China began prioritizing extra-long staple (ELS) cotton over upland cotton, due to ELS cotton’s climactic preferences this shifted the Chinese cotton industry from the Yangtze River Region and Huang He Region to Xinjiang.

In 2019, Xinjiang was responsible for 84% of China’s cotton production. Most of the cotton grown in Xinjiang is high quality extra-long staple length cotton. Annual production is approximately 5 million tonnes. Due to trade tensions and allegations of forced labor pressure has been placed on cotton growers and suppliers with small firms being the hardest hit. Xinjiang accounts for a fifth of the world's cotton production.

Forced labor

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The US-government-funded Uyghur Human Rights Project has described Xinjiang as a "cotton gulag". A 2020 report from a US government anti-Communist think tank, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, said that hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities were being forced to cultivate cotton in Xinjiang.

In March 2020, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) suspended licensing and assurance activities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China due to "persistent allegations" of forced labor in the region. In October 2020, BCI ceased all field-level activities in Xinjiang, citing "sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses" in the region leading to "an increasingly untenable operating environment". On March 26, 2021, the BCI Shanghai representative office said it found no evidence of forced labor in Xinjiang. The office stated that since 2012, the Xinjiang project site has performed second-party credibility audits and third-party verifications over the years, to reach their findings. BCI subsequently removed its October 2020 statement from its website regarding the ceasing of field-level activities in Xinjiang.

Reactions

In reaction to the proposed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2020 to impose sanctions on "any foreign person who 'knowingly engages'" and require firms to disclose their dealings with Xinjiang, the president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association said that blanket import bans on cotton or other products from Xinjiang from such legislation would "wreak havoc" on legitimate supply chains in the apparel industry because Xinjiang cotton exports are often intermingled with cotton from other countries and there is no available origin-tracing technology for cotton fibers. On September 22, 2020, the US Chamber of Commerce issued a letter stating that the act "would prove ineffective and may hinder efforts to prevent human rights abuses." Major companies with supply chain ties to Xinjiang, including Apple Inc., Nike, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company, have lobbied Congress to weaken the legislation and amend its provisions.

Chinese media has dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and citing that any sort of boycott or sanction would harm cotton workers in Xinjiang.Additionally, Xinhua called into question the integrity of the motivations of the western sources BCI cited in it's decision, and stated that BCI was part of a "western smear campaign".

Decisions by various Western companies to stop buying Xinjiang cotton have led more than 40 celebrities from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, including Eddie Peng, Eason Chan, Uyghur actress Dilraba Dilmurat, Huang Xuan, Victoria Song, and Zhou Dongyu, to sever ties with those companies. In March 2021, Chinese consumers began boycotting companies which had vowed not to use cotton from Xinjiang. Chinese consumers criticized H&M, which in September 2020 announced it would stop using a Chinese manufacturer accused of using forced labor, citing the BCI's decision to stop licensing Xinjiang cotton. People's Daily named New Balance, Burberry and all BCI members in online posts, calling for Chinese consumers to boycott these brands. Amid the boycotts, Chinese sportswear company Anta Sports announced it was exiting the BCI, citing their statement on Xinjiang as "seriously concerning".

In 2021 the US Government banned the import of any cotton produced in Xinjiang. This ban was part of a US pressure campaign aimed at ending the alleged abuses of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

See also

• China Cotton Association

References

1. Millward, James A (July 2009). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780231139250.
2. ^ Millward, James A (July 2009). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 157. ISBN 9780231139250.
3. Millward, James A (July 2009). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 186. ISBN 9780231139250.
4. ^ Becqelin, Nicolas (July 2000). "Xinjiang in the Nineties". The China Journal. 44. University of Chicago Press: 65–90. doi:10.2307/2667477.
5. ^ Millward, James A (July 2009). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 299. ISBN 9780231139250.
6. Mullins, Anna. "The Past, Present, Future Of Chinese ELS Cotton". www.cottongrower.com. Cotton Grower. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
7. Cosgrove, Emma. "Uighur labor will be tough to avoid with about 20% of cotton connected to Xinjiang: GlobalData". www.supplychaindive.com. Supply Chain Dive. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
8. Zhou, Cissy. "Xinjiang cotton ban uncertainties weigh on Chinese farmers, smaller textile firms". www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
9. Davidson, Helen. "Xinjiang: more than half a million forced to pick cotton, report suggests". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
10. Bain, Marc. "Clothing made by Chinese forced labor is likely being sold in the US". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
11. Sudworth, John. "China's 'tainted' cotton". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
12. "BCI Pulls Out of Xinjiang". Archived from the original on 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
13. "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Update". Better Cotton Initiative. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
14. Clark, Evan (2020-10-21). "Better Cotton Initiative Stops Xinjiang Field Activity". WWD. Archived from the original on 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
15. "BCI China Finds No Forced Labor". Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
16. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (April 13, 2021). "Xinjiang statement removed from cotton watchdog website". Axios. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
17. David Brunnstrom (11 March 2020). "U.S. lawmakers seek to tighten ban on forced-labor goods from China's Xinjiang". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
18. Lawder, David (September 17, 2020). "US ban on China's Xinjiang cotton 'would wreak havoc', leading apparel group says". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
19. Neil L. Bradley (22 September 2020). "U.S. Chamber Letter on H.R. 6210, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act," and H.R. 6270, the "Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020"". US Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
20. Swanson, Ana (2020-11-29). "Nike and Coca-Cola Lobby Against Xinjiang Forced Labor Bill". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
21. ^ "Xinjiang officials, cotton farmers dismiss forced labor allegations". news.cgtn.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
22. "China slams U.S. for blocking cotton imports from Xinjiang - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
23. "Xinhua Commentary: BCI's cotton boycott against China is hasty and doomed to fail - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
24. Yan, Lim Ruey (26 March 2021). "Over 40 celebrities end ties with fashion companies over Xinjiang cotton allegations". Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
25. ^ Zhang, Tianwei; Ap, Tiffany; Clark, Evan (2021-03-25). "Xinjiang Cotton: Li Ning, Anta Shares Surge While Nike, Adidas, Burberry Hit With Backlash". WWD. Archived from the original on 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
26. McDonald, Joe (2021-03-25). "China attacks foreign clothing, shoe brands over Xinjiang". AP News. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
27. Business, Ben Westcott and Laura He, CNN. "H&M and Nike are facing a boycott in China over Xinjiang cotton statements". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-03-28. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
28. Bain, Marc. "The US is intensifying its crackdown on forced labor in China's Xinjiang region". qz.com. Quartz. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

• Cotton production
• Industry in China
• Xinjiang