The Cotton Association of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has called on the international community to treat Xinjiang cotton with rationality and objectivity. In a statement released on Thursday, the association expressed hope that Japanese brand Uniqlo would restore its use of Xinjiang cotton following recent remarks by the company’s founder, Tadashi Yanai.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Yanai revealed that Uniqlo has ceased sourcing cotton from Xinjiang. Responding to this, the Xinjiang Cotton Association emphasized that the region’s cotton is among the finest in the world.
The association highlighted Xinjiang’s significant contribution to the global textile industry, noting that its high-quality cotton meets both domestic and international demand while bolstering local economic growth. The cotton industry in Xinjiang has created numerous job opportunities, lifting many families out of poverty. With China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Xinjiang cotton has become a key commodity connecting global markets, prized for its superior quality.
The association criticized efforts to politicize human rights issues to unjustly target Xinjiang cotton. It accused certain parties of spreading unfounded allegations of “forced labor” to undermine the livelihoods of the region’s workers. Such actions, the statement argued, deprive the people of Xinjiang of their right to improve their lives through legitimate employment.
Emphasizing the industry’s advancements, the association noted significant strides in mechanization, sustainability, and innovation within Xinjiang’s cotton sector. The region now boasts a 100 percent mechanization rate for cotton planting, with mechanized harvesting reaching approximately 90 percent. These developments have made cotton production a crucial pillar of the local economy, contributing to the increasing prosperity of the region’s residents.
“We urge the international community and textile companies to approach anti-Xinjiang rhetoric with careful and rational analysis based on objective facts,” the statement read. “We hope that global brands like Uniqlo will respect and trust Xinjiang cotton, resuming its use to support the healthy and stable development of the global cotton and textile industry.”
At a Foreign Ministry press conference on Thursday, spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated that there is no “forced labor” in Xinjiang and reaffirmed China’s strong stance against such practices, which it has actively worked to eliminate. Lin called on the international community to refrain from spreading misinformation and invited foreign visitors to experience the realities of Xinjiang firsthand.
Reference(s):
Xinjiang cotton industry calls for objective treatment of its cotton
cgtn.com
