Chinese branch of Better Cotton Initiative challenges headquarters and says it has found no evidence of Xinjiang forced labour
- State media tries to highlight rift as Beijing seeks to challenge claims of human rights abuses in region
- International fashion brands, including H&M, have been hit by calls for a boycott over decision to stop using Xinjiang cotton
The rift between the Better Cotton Initiative’s headquarters in Geneva and the Shanghai branch, whose claims were heavily promoted by Chinese state media, highlights the difficulty international organisations face when dealing with sensitive topics such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong that Beijing insists are purely internal matters.
In a report aired by state broadcaster China Central Television on Saturday, Wu Yan, the head of the BCI’s Shanghai branch, said: “In response to overseas claims about forced labour concerns in Xinjiang, we have repeatedly conducted stringent inspections and submitted two of our investigation reports and compiled years of reports from third-party visits.
“We have also repeatedly told international non-government organisations as well as other stakeholders that we haven’t identified one single case of forced labour.”
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Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
China produces 22 per cent of the world’s cotton, of which 84 per cent comes from Xinjiang, according to a report by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.