Xinjiang import ban applied prejudice

The US administration is reportedly mulling bans on imports of products from Northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region alleging that they are produced with forced labor. The move, if it materializes, will no doubt ratchet up tensions over the already troubled bilateral ties and meet strong opposition from Beijing.

According to a Reuters report, the US Customs and Border Protection action, which was initially to be announced on Tuesday but postponed to later this week, will target cotton and tomato, two major commodities produced in the region, along with five other exports.

The US administration has repeatedly made unfounded allegations about human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the impending ban lays bare its intention to not only use the ban as part of its selective decoupling and reshoring efforts but also its intention to ramp up such claims to denigrate the Communist Party of China.

For the pressure the US administration is putting on China to contain its development is being done with extreme prejudice. It is not only aimed at tarnishing China’s image in the world but also that of the CPC as part of the US administration’s attempts to estrange it from the Chinese people.

But no matter how hard it tries, the US administration will not succeed in its aims. It should realize that the Chinese people will never agree to any distortion of the truth that seeks to disfigure the nature and purpose of the CPC. It should understand that the spirit and willpower of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC are the guarantees for overcoming all risks and challenges.

Those in the US hoping to impede or halt China’s development should realize that “no person or force can stop the Chinese people from moving forward to achieve a better life”, as President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday at a ceremony to commend role models in the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus.

As to Xinjiang, anyone viewing the situation impartially will appreciate what has been achieved. Nearly 3 million residents have been lifted out of poverty in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2019, while the few remaining impoverished residents will be lifted out of poverty this year. With the success of the poverty reduction and economic and social development initiatives in Xinjiang, the living conditions and education levels of people of all ethnic groups in the region have fundamentally improved.

And thanks to effective deradicalization measures, Xinjiang is no longer plagued by terrorism and extremism. There has not been a single violent terrorist attack in the region in the past four years. All ethnic groups in the region enjoy and benefit from the security, stability and prosperity that now prevail.

Yet, to serve its ulterior motives, the US has turned a blind eye to China’s achievements in advancing economic and social development in Xinjiang, and resorted to a double standard over the issue of human rights.

Instead of pointing an accusing finger at Xinjiang, the US had better focus on its own human rights issues, which have been exposed by the US administration’s woeful handling of the nation’s pandemic response.