BEIJING: China urged the United States and other countries to immediately stop wrongdoings, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, after Washington announced an import ban on some imports from the Xinjiang region over forced labour allegations.
China vowed to take all necessary measures to protect its companies’ interests after the US announced a ban on imports of cotton and tomato products from Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, citing “forced labor” concerns.
The US’ latest ban on all cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang region was announced by its Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday, after the UK and Canada introduced similar measures and US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its annual report lashing China’s “human rights records” in its Xinjiang and Hong Kong regions. The Wednesday ban, which was made by the Trump administration in its final days, applies to raw fibers, apparel and textiles made from Xinjiang-grown cotton and tomato-based food products. It also applies to products processed or manufactured in third countries.
Chinese authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Foreign Ministry (FM), voiced strong opposition to the ban on Thursday, calling it the latest move meant to interfere with China’s domestic affairs based on disinformation and untenable lies, and saying that it would destroy the stability of the global industry chain.
Chinese FM spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the “forced labor” accusation was the “lie of the century” made by the US and some Western countries, and the ban it has imposed based on lies would hurt the world, including Americans’ interests.
“The US ban is a unilateral move that gives related Chinese companies no chance to defend themselves. “Forced labor” in Xinjiang is an excuse for the US to impose sanctions on agricultural products and competitive products from the Xinjiang region,” Zhu Ying, deputy director of the National Human Rights Education and Training Base of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Thursday. “The US is trying to prop up its own agricultural development by setting such trade barriers, as well as containing China,” Zhu said, noting that China could also take countermeasures against US companies since forced labor issues also exist in the US.
Zhao told a Thursday press conference that reports on US “forced labor” issues appeared in the media now and then. For example, in the US state of Texas, prisoners were reportedly forced to work 12-hour shifts to make masks for no pay after the COVID-19 outbreak. The US and some Western countries have long hyped “forced labor” topics in China’s Xinjiang region, but other than flawed reports by anti-China think tanks or lies made by overseas separatists from Xinjiang, they could offer no solid evidence.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
