‘Forced labor’ just an excuse to harm Xinjiang

Photovoltaic insiders say US sanctions a tool to limit region’s market share

Polysilicon manufacturers based in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region said on Monday that the United States’ recent sanctions against them due to accusations of “forced labor” are just an excuse to clamp down on the region’s photovoltaic industry after it gained competitiveness in the global market.

“The US government has chosen to ignore the facts that Xinjiang people can choose their jobs freely. Instead, it imposed all kinds of restrictive measures to clamp down on Xinjiang businesses in the name of ‘forced labor’. Now it uses lies as scripts and administrative measures as tools to target Xinjiang’s photovoltaic industry,” Dong Li, vice-president of the Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Industry Association, said while responding to the latest US sanctions on behalf of affected polysilicon producers.

The White House announced on June 24 that the Biden administration had put five business entities based in Xinjiang that make polysilicon — a raw material for photovoltaic products — on the commerce department’s “entity list”, which requires US companies to get an export license when dealing with them.

The actions demonstrated the US’ commitment to imposing additional costs on China for engaging in “cruel and inhumane forced labor practices”, the White House said in a statement.

Dong told a news conference in Beijing that the US action would severely damage the international business order and threaten the security of the global supply chain.

“The move will eventually harm the interests of the photovoltaic industry worldwide,” he said.

China is expected to produce 567,000 metric tons of polysilicon this year, about 85 percent of global production. Some 57 percent of China’s polysilicon will be made in Xinjiang this year, according to the association.

Its production isn’t labor-intensive, with the complex production process highly automated. The association said the polysilicon production technology used in Xinjiang is among the best in the world.

“Compared with labor costs, we pay more attention to other costs such as energy and raw materials,” said Chen Xu, human resources manager at Xinjiang Daqo New Energy, one of the companies hit by the US sanctions. “Labor costs only account for a small portion of the company’s total production costs. There is no need for us to ‘exploit the labor force through force’.”

The company has 1,900 employees, only 18 of whom are not from the Han ethnic group. It produces about 15 percent of China’s polysilicon.

Shen Feng, a manager at Xinjiang GCL New Energy Material, said the company has attached great importance to respecting the customs and religious beliefs of its 103 non-Han employees. The company, which specializes in polysilicon production and developing photovoltaic technologies, has also been hit by sanctions.

Adila Turson, from Kashgar prefecture, has been working for the company since June 2019.

“I was recruited after graduating from university. I can make about 8,000 yuan ($1,240) a month, which I feel pretty happy about,” said Adila, adding that competition for jobs with the company is very heated.