Xinjiang is the leading producer of cotton in China, accounting for about 20% of the world's cotton production and 80% of China's domestic cotton production. Critics of the industry's practices have alleged widespread human rights abuses, prompting global boycotts. China rejects accusations that any human rights abuses occur either within the Xinjiang cotton industry or within China overall.
The cotton industry has a long history in Xinjiang, with cotton having been grown in the region since the 1st millennium AD. [1]
At the turn of the 20th century, Xinjiang was a producer of raw goods, including cotton. [2] Turfan was Xinjiang's biggest producer of cotton, with 60% of its cotton exported to Russia, and around 45% of Kashgar's exports (1.35 million roubles out of 3 million total exports) to Russia in 1902 were of cotton cloth. [2] 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. [3]
Throughout the lattermost portions of the 20th century, the government of China sought to turn Xinjiang into a regional cotton-producing powerhouse. [4] [5] The management of cotton production in the region was heavily reformed in 1975, though this led to significantly decreased yields in 1976 and 1977. [6] However, production rebounded and grew significantly after these years; cotton harvests increased by a factor of 27 between 1977 and 1997, when a total yield of 1.5 million tons was recorded. [4] [5] 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. [4] The mid-1990s also saw China use protectionist trade policies to support cotton growers, with the government paying a 20% higher price to purchase domestic cotton than foreign cotton of the same quality in order to support the cotton industry. [7] Despite the growth in cotton production until that point, Xinjiang's economy went into a recession during the late 1990s owing in part to a decrease in the international demand for cotton. [7] Nevertheless, by the end of the 2nd millennium AD, half of the value of Xinjiang's total agricultural production was derived from cotton; [7] Xinjiang had become the largest cotton-producing province in China and produced over one-quarter of all of China's domestically grown cotton by 2001. [5]
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. [8] As of 2009, the bulk of China's cotton supply was harvested through the use of labor-heavy cultivation methods. At that time, cotton in the region faced unique challenges in production, with over one-fifth of cotton plants experiencing disease and chronic shortages of laborers willing to pick cotton hindering the efficiency and effectiveness of cotton cultivation. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11] Xinjiang accounts for a fifth of the world's cotton production. [12]
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The cotton industry in Xinjiang has been accused of using large-scale forced labor in the production of cotton following the creation of the Xinjiang internment camps. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] The Chinese government rejects these accusations pointing to inconsistencies in the evidence from former Xinjiang residents. [18] Instead, China characterises such programs as efforts to stimulate economic growth, provide vocational training and help combat extremism. [16] [19] [20]
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. [21] 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". [22] [23] 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. [24] BCI subsequently removed its October 2020 statement from its website regarding the ceasing of field-level activities in Xinjiang. [25]
After the United States issued restrictions on the imports of cotton in Xinjiang in September 2020, global businesses began to decrease their use of cotton produced in Xinjiang. [26] [27]
Chinese state media has called the reporting on forced labor in Xinjiang "baseless" and stated that any sort of boycott or sanction would harm cotton workers in Xinjiang. [28] A commentary published by the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency said that BCI was part of a "western smear campaign". [28] [29] Public opinion in China has largely been in line with the position of state media and institutions. Perceptions of popular opinion may be distorted because of widespread censorship of posts which do not match the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) line. [30]
Decisions by various 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. [31] [32] 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. [33] People's Daily , the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, named New Balance, Burberry and all BCI members in online posts, calling for Chinese consumers to boycott these brands. [34] Amid the boycotts, Chinese sportswear company Anta Sports announced it was exiting the BCI, citing their statement on Xinjiang as "seriously concerning". [32] In addition TV platforms blurred the logos of companies which were part of the controversy. It is near impossible to get accurate information about the situation in Xinjiang domestically in China. [35]
Hua Chunying has accused the United States of hypocrisy over the issue pointing to the legacy of racism in the United States particularly the history of slavery and exploitation of African Americans in the cotton fields of the American South. In March 2021 she tweeted two pictures side by side, one a historical photo of cotton farmers in Mississippi and the other a photo of three smiling workers collecting cotton in Xinjiang, with the caption "#Mississippi in 1908 vs #Xinjiang in 2015 A shotgun and several hounds vs smiles and harvests. Forced labor?" [36]
In July 2020, the United States passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which instituted tracking and reporting requirements regarding China's abuses against Turkic Muslims and called for sanctions on individuals and organizations involved in the persecution thereof. [37]
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "[t]he US Department of Homeland Security detained shipments at United States ports of entry containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps based on credible information that these products were made using forced labor." [37] In September 2020, the United States began to restrict the imports of cotton from Xinjiang. [26] [27] In January 2021, the United States banned the import of cotton produced in Xinjiang in a move aimed at pressuring the Chinese Government to end the persecution of Uyghurs in China. [16] [38] [39]
The United States-based Uyghur Human Rights Project has described Xinjiang as a "cotton gulag". [40]
In 2021, Taiwanese Legislative Speaker You Si-kun said that cotton from China's Xinjiang region was not just a political issue but was becoming a human rights issue. [41]
Asked about the controversy, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said that “The trade war between the US and China will certainly continue, but China still has to improve its human rights.” [42]
The London-based Anti-Slavery International has spoken out against conditions in the Xinjiang cotton industry and has pressured both businesses and governments to address the situation. [43]
Zhun Xu (Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College) and Fangfei Lin (Associate Professor in Sociology at Xinjiang University) write that there is insufficient support for claims of forced labor in Xinjiang. They cite the historic significance of Uyghur agricultural workers as a long-standing labor force for manual cotton harvesting and staffing companies' widespread recruitment of Uyghur workers due to lower travel costs. In their view, "[T]he labor demand of Uyghur seasonal cotton pickers in south Xinjiang is largely decided by its relatively low degree of agricultural capitalization, not due to the 'special treatment' towards labor migrants of a certain ethnic minority." [44]
The Uyghurs, alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the titular nationality of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. They are one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs are recognized by the Chinese government as a regional minority and the titular people of Xinjiang.
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, also known as Bingtuan, trading as the external name China Xinjian Group, is a state-owned enterprise and paramilitary organization in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The East Turkestan independence movement is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and sparsely-populated region in northwest China, as a nation state for the Uyghur people. The region is currently administered as a province-level subdivision of the People's Republic of China (PRC), under the official name Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Within the movement, there is widespread support for the region to be renamed, since "Xinjiang" is seen by independence activists as a colonial name. "East Turkestan" is the best-known proposed name as it is the historical geographic name of the region and the name of the two independent states that briefly existed in the region in the first half of the 20th century.
Xinjiang is historically consisted of two main geographically, historically, and ethnically distinct regions with different historical names: Dzungaria north of the Tianshan Mountains; and the Tarim Basin south of the Tianshan Mountains, currently mainly inhabited by the Uyghurs. They were conquered by the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, and after the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) the Qing reconquered both regions and integrated them into one province named Xinjiang in 1884.
Nury Ablikim Turkel is an American attorney, public official and human rights advocate based in Washington, D.C. He is currently Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Xinjiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia. Being the largest province-level division of China by area and the 8th-largest country subdivision in the world, Xinjiang spans over 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 sq mi) and has about 25 million inhabitants. Xinjiang borders the countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and India. The rugged Karakoram, Kunlun and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang's borders, as well as its western and southern regions. The Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract regions are administered by China but also claimed by India. Xinjiang also borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The most well-known route of the historic Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border.
The Xinjiang conflict, also known as the East Turkistan conflict, Uyghur–Chinese conflict or Sino-East Turkistan conflict, is an ongoing ethnic geopolitical conflict in what is now China's far-northwest autonomous region of Xinjiang, also known as East Turkistan. It is centred around the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group who constitute a plurality of the region's population.
Better Cotton is a non-profit, multistakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices across 22 countries. As of 2023, Better Cotton accounts for 22% of global cotton production. In the 2022-2023 cotton season, 2.2 million licensed farmers grew 5.4 million tonnes of Better Cotton. Partner retailers include H&M, Gap, IKEA, and Levi Strauss, and include funding partners from USAID.
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Civil Servant-Family Pair Up, also known as Pair Up and Become Family, is a Chinese government policy that forces designated Uyghur families to be matched with Han Chinese civil servants, with the families forced to host the civil servants in their home. Since the late 2010s, China has vigorously promoted the policy in Xinjiang. Beginning in 2018, over one million Chinese government workers began forcibly living in the homes of Uyghur families to monitor and assess resistance to cultural assimilation as well as to surveil religious and cultural practices. According to the official state perspective, the policy is to provide Mandarin language training as a way to better integrate Uyghurs and as a means for the poverty alleviation of the region. Policies bearing the same name have also been implemented in impoverished regions in Anhui, Tibet, as well as for left-behind children, widowed elders, the disabled, and in earthquake-affected regions.
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The Chinese government is committing a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang that is often characterized as persecution or as genocide. Beginning in 2014, the Chinese government, under the administration of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping, incarcerated more than an estimated one million Turkic Muslims without any legal process in internment camps. Operations from 2016 to 2021 were led by Xinjiang CCP Secretary Chen Quanguo. It is the largest-scale detention of ethnic and religious minorities since World War II. The Chinese government began to wind down the camps in 2019. Amnesty International states that detainees have been increasingly transferred to the formal penal system.
Adrian Nikolaus Zenz is a German anthropologist known for his studies of the Xinjiang internment camps and persecution of Uyghurs in China. He is a director and senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an anti-communist think tank established by the US government and based in Washington, DC.
Rushan Abbas is a Uyghur American activist and advocate from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. She is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Campaign for Uyghurs. Abbas became one of the most prominent Uyghur voices in international activism following her sister's detainment by the Chinese government in 2018.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is a United States federal law that changed U.S. policy on China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with the goal of ensuring that American entities are not funding forced labor among ethnic minorities in the region.
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The Uyghur Tribunal was an independent "people's tribunal" based in the United Kingdom aiming to examine evidence regarding the ongoing human rights abuses against the Uyghur people by the Government of China and to evaluate whether the abuses constitute genocide under the Genocide Convention. The tribunal was chaired by Geoffrey Nice, the lead prosecutor in the trial of Slobodan Milošević, who announced the creation of the tribunal in September 2020.
Rayhan Asat is a Uyghur lawyer and human rights advocate. Since 2020, she has led a public campaign for the release of her brother, Ekpar Asat, who has been held in the Xinjiang internment camp system since 2016, and on behalf of the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China. In 2021, she joined the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council as a Nonresident Senior Fellow and became a Yale World Fellow. Asat is also a Senior Fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and President of the American Turkic International Lawyers Association.
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Xinjiang Zhongtai Group is a state owned business group in China. It was founded in 2001 and has been listed in the Fortune Global 500 companies. The group has been listed in the Shenzhen stock market since 2006 and has 43 wholly owned subsidiaries; along officially 22.700 employees in 2019. It operates investment, asset management, and other businesses.
