Boycott Western brands, Beijing tells shoppers
China has launched a wideranging counter-offensive involving consumer boycotts, aggressive diplomacy and a global public relations campaign to defend itself against accusations of brutality against its Uyghur minority.
After Chinese officials were sanctioned by Western powers earlier this week, Beijing retaliated with sanctions of its own and an assertive drive to try to justify forcing millions of Uyghurs into secure camps for what it calls re-education but which critics say is part of a genocidal campaign of oppression.
Zhao Kezhi, the public security minister, visited Xinjiang province, where most Uyghurs live, and vowed to defeat any plot to ‘‘use Xinjiang to contain China’’, an indication that Beijing sees all Uyghur-related sanctions as an effort by the USled western bloc to stem the rise of China.
The tit-for-tat sanctions have plunged relations between China and the West to their lowest point in years.
The youth league of the Communist Party has called on consumers to boycott H&M after the Swedish brand said that it would not use cotton from Xinjiang. State media condemned H&M and listed other international brands, including Nike, adidas and Uniqlo, that have stopped sourcing Xinjiang cotton.
Chinese celebrities cut ties with the brands in a show of solidarity with the government.
Online shopping platforms have removed H&M products. At least one mall in Xinjiang shut one of its outlets and demanded an apology.
In Beijing, however, foot traffic to a major H&M store in the shopping district of Sanlitun appeared to be normal.
‘‘Chinese people do not allow some foreigners to make money from the Chinese market while hurting the country,’’ Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said. ‘‘We welcome foreign companies and individuals to do business here but we are opposed to malicious attacks against China based on rumours and lies.’’
‘‘The so-called forced labour in Xinjiang does not exist at all,’’ Gao Feng, a ministry spokesman for the commerce ministry said. ‘‘Xinjiang cotton cannot be smeared. We oppose any foreign forces interfering with Xinjiang affairs and China’s internal matters.’’
Incidents of children being separated from their parents and Uighur women being forcibly sterilised have been widely documented, while studies of state documents show that hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been moved en masse to pick cotton in the fields of Xinjiang. China says that the work is part of a povertyalleviation scheme.
Hua said: ‘‘The accusations by the US and other western countries about Xinjiang are entirely based on lies, which were first spread by some socalled scholars and media and hyped by some anti-china forces.
‘‘It’s extremely wrong to fabricate lies to smear China, and the accusation that there is ’forced labour’ in Xinjiang has no grounds,’’ she said.
Beijing is pushing a forceful new style of diplomacy it calls ‘‘wolf warrior’’. Lu Shaye, its ambassador in Paris, was summoned by the French foreign ministry this week over what it deemed threatening remarks. Lu responded by demanding that Paris stop ‘‘poisoning ChinaFrance relations’’.
China is seeking to cement ties with governments less concerned about its human rights record, such as Moscow. Wang Yi, the foreign minister, met Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Thursday. Chinese state media said that the Saudi Arabian crown prince ‘‘vowed to oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs’’.
Wang received a cooler reception in Ankara yesterday, where the foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, conveyed Turkey’s ‘‘sensitivity and thoughts’’ about Uyghur Muslims amid protests from exiled Uyghurs in Istanbul.
‘‘Chinese people do not allow some foreigners to make money from the Chinese market while hurting the country.’’
Hua Chunying spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry