Swedish fashion retailer H&M should look into the Xinjiang issue seriously, a
Chinese official said on Monday, as the company faces a consumer boycott over comments made last year about labor conditions in the western Chinese region, Reuters reports.
H&M has been facing social media anger in China since last week, when social media users circulated a statement the company made in 2020 announcing it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang. H&M said the decision was due to difficulties in doing credible due diligence in the region and after media and human rights' groups reported the use of forced labor in Xinjiang.
China has repeatedly denied the allegations, as well as accusations of other human rights abuses against Uighur Muslim minorities in the region.
Xu Guixiang, a spokesman for the regional government of Xinjiang, told reporters that a company should not politicize its economic behavior and said H&M won't be able to make money anymore in the Chinese market because of its statement.
Xu on Monday also accused the United States, Britain, the European Union and Canada of engaging in political manipulation to destabilize China following their coordinated sanctions imposed against Beijing last week over human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
