China steps up pressure on brands to reject reports of Uyghur abuses
29 March 2021
By The Associated Press
BEIJING — China stepped up pressure Monday on foreign shoe and clothing brands to reject reports of abuses in Xinjiang, telling companies that are targeted by Beijing for boycotts to look more closely and pointing to a statement by one that it found no forced labor.
H&M, Nike, Adidas and other brands are caught in a spiraling conflict over Xinjiang after Western governments imposed sanctions on Chinese officials accused of abuses. State media called for a boycott of H&M for saying it would no longer use cotton from Xinjiang and are criticizing other brands for expressing concern about reports of forced labor.
“When the stick of sanctions is brandished on Xinjiang, it will also hit your own head,” a spokesman for the Xinjiang regional government, Xu Guixiang, said at a news conference in Beijing.
