China textile boycott for criticizing repression in Xinjiang

Pablo m.Díez Beijing

In the midst of the deep global crisis that has caused the Coronavirus, China takes advantage of the strength of its gigantic market to silence the political criticisms of the West.Given the growing repression in the Muslim region of Xinjiang, a boycott has been unleashed against international textile brands that try to disconnect from one of its main industries, that of Agodón, accused of using forced labor.

Like many other things, in China 22 percent of world cotton occurs.According to the center for international and strategic studies, 84 percent of that cotton comes from Xinjiang, the convulsive border Muslim region with Central Asia.According to reports that have been collected by the UN, there it is estimated that up to one million of its native inhabitants, the uigures, and other ethnic groups such as the Kazakhs, have been confined in reeducation fields to prevent Islamist terrorism.Although Beijing denied its existence at the beginning, it finally ended up recognizing it, but as professional training schools to integrate the Uigures.

To international criticism for its mandatory and massive internment in these fields is added the denunciation of the use of forced labor in the cotton sector.This is ensured by the German researcher Adrian Zenz, who belongs to the Memory Foundation of the victims of communism and has discovered the massive transfer of Uigures away from their homes to collect cotton and the installation of textile factories along with these reeducation fields.In images taken by satellite, columns of uniformed workers are seen going in formation from one place to another.

Apartándose del escándalo, famosas marcas como H&M, Nike y Adidas negaron el año pasado abastecerse de algodón de Xinjiang.Its separation had gone unnoticed by Chinese consumers until the last days, in which the United States, the European Union and Canada have imposed sanctions on China for the violation of human rights in that region.In addition to responding by putting the parliamentarians and academics who denounce this repression on the blacklist, the authoritarian Beijing regime has launched a boycott against the western brands that last year renegade of Xinjiang cotton last year.

«There are many foreign companies that have published communications cutting ties with Xinjiang cotton during the last two years.This has included members of the initiative for a better cotton such as Burberry, Adidas, Nike, New Balance and others.Internet users have said that the Chinese market does not welcome those who are maliciously stab.

La firma más afectada de todas ha sido la sueca H&M, cuyas prendas han desaparecido de las potentes plataformas de comercio electrónico, como JD o Taobao, y cuyas tiendas han sido hasta borradas de las aplicaciones de mapas. Espoleada por la propaganda oficial, en las redes sociales ha estallado un boicot que amenaza con dañar seriamente las ventas en China de H&M y otras marcas.Although the Swedish firm is the second textile in the world after the Spanish Zara, in this first quarter it has suffered losses of 122 million dollars (103 million euros), according to the newspaper «South China Morning Post».

«Dipaying and boycotting Xinjiang's cotton while trying to make money in China?Not in dreams!.During the last two weeks, the boycott has spread to other brands such as Burberry, Nike, Adidas and Converse.Chinese stars such as actress Tang Songyun and Hong Kong singer Eason Chan have broken their contracts with some of the affected firms and foot clients have even hung videos burning their shoes and garments for joy of the authorities.

«I don't think a company should politicize its economic behavior. ¿Puede H&M seguir haciendo dinero en el mercado chino? Ya no», se ufanó un portavoz del Gobierno regional de Xinjiang, Xu Guixiang, recoge la BBC.While the exterior spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, warned that "the Chinese do not allow some foreigners to take our food and break our dishes," the trade, Gao Feng, hoped that "the relevant companies respect the market standards, correct theirerroneous practices and avoid politicizing commercial issues ».

For the Chamber of Commerce in Europe, the affected brands are "between the sword and the wall".His moral dilemma is to contribute to the abuses in Xinjiang or risk losing the gigantic Chinese market.If they do the first, they will face Western rejection and American cotton prohibition of Xinjiang.But, if they don't continue to buy it, they could have to leave the world's largest market.

Beijing's most powerful weapon, its vast market

It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that the Chinese regime resorts to the power of its market to silence criticism against its authoritarianism.Fully delivered to capitalism, Beijing knows that there is nothing better than money to close mouths and buy wills.Every time a crisis for the Senkaku Islands, which China claims Japan under the name of Diaoyudai, not only the protests are repeated before the Japanese embassy, but the boycott of its brands.In 2008, when the then French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, suggested not to celebrate the Beijing Olympic Games for repression of the revolt in the Tibet, the Carrefour supermarkets suffered a fall in sales.Before Xinjiang, China's last conflict with the West was on account of Hong Kong's protests claiming democracy.On that occasion, the boycott were the NBA for a support tweet from the general director of the Houston Rockets and even Zara for the suspicion that he had joined one of the general strikes convened by the protesters.For the Chinese regime, one of the best weapons when closing diplomatic conflicts is its huge market.