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Xin gian g cotton industry

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A large heap of cotton. Figures are visible adding to the pile
1964 Xin gian g cotton harvest

Xin gian gis the leading producer ofcottoninChina,accounting for about 20% of the world's cotton production and 80% of China's domestic cotton production. Critics of the industry's practices have alleged widespread human rights abuses, prompting global boycotts. China rejects accusations that any human rights abuses occur either within theXin gian g cotton industryor within China overall.

History[edit]

The cotton industry has a long history in Xin gian g, with cotton having been grown in the region since the 1st millennium AD.[1]

Modern era[edit]

At the turn of the 20th century, Xin gian g was a producer of raw goods, including cotton.[2]Turfanwas Xin gian g's biggest producer of cotton, with 60% of its cotton exported toRussia,and around 45% ofKashgar's exports (1.35 million roubles out of 3 million total exports) to Russia in 1902 were of cotton cloth.[2]The Russian Revolution coincided with a decrease in cotton exports from Xin gian g to Russia, significantly harming the cotton industry and the local economy as a whole.[3]

Throughout the lattermost portions of the 20th century, the government of China sought to turn Xin gian g into a regional cotton-producing powerhouse.[4][5]The management of cotton production in the region was heavily reformed in 1975, though this led to significantly decreased yields in 1976 and 1977.[6]However, production rebounded and grew significantly after these years; cotton harvests increased by a factor of 27 between 1977 and 1997, when a total yield of 1.5 million tons was recorded.[4][5]During the 1990s, theXin gian g Production and Construction Corpsbegan to contribute significantly to Xin gian g's economy, being responsible for 40% of the region's cotton production in 1997.[4]The mid-1990s also saw China use protectionist trade policies to support cotton growers, with the government paying a 20% higher price to purchase domestic cotton than foreign cotton of the same quality in order to support the cotton industry.[7]Despite the growth in cotton production until that point, Xin gian g's economy went into a recession during the late 1990s owing in part to a decrease in the international demand for cotton.[7]Nevertheless, by the end of the 2nd millennium AD, half of the value of Xin gian g's total agricultural production was derived from cotton;[7]Xin gian g had become the largest cotton-producing province in China and produced over one-quarter of all of China's domestically grown cotton by 2001.[5]

In 2003 China began prioritizingextra-long staple (ELS) cottonover upland cotton, due to ELS cotton's climactic preferences this shifted the Chinese cotton industry from the Yangtze River Region and Huang He Region to Xin gian g.[8]As of 2009, the bulk of China's cotton supply was harvested through the use of labor-heavy cultivation methods. At that time, cotton in the region faced unique challenges in production, with over one-fifth of cotton plants experiencing disease and chronic shortages of laborers willing to pick cotton hindering the efficiency and effectiveness of cotton cultivation.[9]

In 2019, Xin gian g was responsible for 84% of China's cotton production. Most of the cotton grown in Xin gian g is high quality extra-long staple length cotton.[10]Annual production is approximately 5 million tonnes. Due to trade tensions and allegations of forced labor, pressure has been placed on cotton growers and suppliers, with small firms being the hardest hit.[11]Xin gian g accounts for a fifth of the world's cotton production.[12]

Vietnamis one of the main importers of Xin gian g cotton.[13]: 45 

Forced labor allegations[edit]

The cotton industry in Xin gian g has been accused of using large-scaleforced laborin the production of cotton following the creation of theXin gian g internment camps.[14][15][16][17][18]The Chinese government rejects these accusations pointing to inconsistencies in the evidence from former Xin gian g residents.[19]Instead, China characterises such programs as efforts to stimulate economic growth, provide vocational training and help combatextremism.[17][20][21]

Reactions[edit]

Reactions by business groups[edit]

In March 2020, theBetter Cotton Initiative(BCI) suspended licensing and assurance activities in the Xin gian g Uyghur Autonomous Region of China due to "persistent allegations" of forced labor in the region.[22]In October 2020, BCI ceased all field-level activities in Xin gian g, citing "sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses" in the region leading to "an increasingly untenable operating environment".[23][24]On March 26, 2021, the BCI Shanghai representative office said it found no evidence of forced labor in Xin gian g. The office stated that since 2012, the Xin gian g project site has performed second-party credibility audits and third-party verifications over the years, to reach their findings.[25]BCI subsequently removed its October 2020 statement from its website regarding the ceasing of field-level activities in Xin gian g.[26]

After theUnited Statesissued restrictions on the imports of cotton in Xin gian g in September 2020, global businesses began to decrease their use of cotton produced in Xin gian g.[27][28]

Reactions by country[edit]

China[edit]

Chinesestate mediahas called the reporting on forced labor in Xin gian g "baseless" and stated that any sort of boycott or sanction would harm cotton workers in Xin gian g.[29]A commentary published by the Chinese state-runXinhua News Agencysaid that BCI was part of a "western smear campaign".[29][30]Public opinion in China has largely been in line with the position of state media and institutions. Perceptions of popular opinion may be distorted because of widespread censorship of posts which do not match theChinese Communist Party(CCP) line.[31]

Decisions by various companies to stop buying Xin gian g cotton have led more than 40 celebrities from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, includingEddie Peng,Eason Chan,Uyghur actressDilraba Dilmurat,Huang Xuan,Victoria Song,andZhou Dongyu,to sever ties with those companies.[32][33]In March 2021, Chinese consumers began boycotting companies which had vowed not to use cotton from Xin gian g. Chinese consumers criticizedH&M,which in September 2020 announced it would stop using a Chinese manufacturer accused of using forced labor, citing the BCI's decision to stop licensing Xin gian g cotton.[34]People's Daily,the official newspaper of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,namedNew Balance,Burberryand all BCI members in online posts, calling for Chinese consumers to boycott these brands.[35]Amid the boycotts, Chinese sportswear companyAnta Sportsannounced it was exiting the BCI, citing their statement on Xin gian g as "seriously concerning".[33]In addition TV platforms blurred the logos of companies which were part of the controversy. It is near impossible to get accurate information about the situation in Xin gian g domestically in China.[36]

Hua Chunyinghas accused the United States of hypocrisy over the issue pointing to the legacy ofracism in the United Statesparticularly the history ofslaveryandexploitationofAfrican Americansin the cotton fields of theAmerican South.In March 2021 shetweetedtwo pictures side by side, one a historical photo of cotton farmers in Mississippi and the other a photo of three smiling workers collecting cotton in Xin gian g, with the caption "#Mississippi in 1908 vs #Xin gian g in 2015 A shotgun and several hounds vs smiles and harvests. Forced labor?"[37]

United States[edit]
See also:Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

In July 2020, the United States passed theUyghur Human Rights Policy Act,which instituted tracking and reporting requirements regarding China's abuses against Turkic Muslims and called for sanctions on individuals and organizations involved in the persecution thereof.[38]

According to theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum,"[t]he US Department of Homeland Security detained shipments at United States ports of entry containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xin gian g Production and Construction Corps based on credible information that these products were made using forced labor."[38]In September 2020, the United States began to restrict the imports of cotton from Xin gian g.[27][28]In January 2021, the United States banned the import of cotton produced in Xin gian g in a move aimed at pressuring the Chinese Government to end thepersecution of Uyghurs in China.[17][39][40]

The United States-basedUyghur Human Rights Projecthas described Xin gian g as a "cottongulag".[41]

Taiwan[edit]

In 2021, Taiwanese Legislative SpeakerYou Si-kunsaid that cotton from China's Xin gian g region was not just a political issue but was becoming a human rights issue.[42]

Asked about the controversy, Taipei MayorKo Wen-jesaid that “The trade war between the US and China will certainly continue, but China still has to improve its human rights.”[43]

United Kingdom[edit]

The London-basedAnti-Slavery Internationalhas spoken out against conditions in the Xin gian g cotton industry and has pressured both businesses and governments to address the situation.[44]In June 2025, theCourt of Appealruled that theNational Crime Agencymust reconsider whether to open an investigation into cotton from Xin gian g.[45]

Academic analysis[edit]

Zhun Xu(Associate Professor of Economics atJohn Jay College) andFangfei Lin(Associate Professor in Sociology atXin gian g University) write that there is insufficient support for claims of forced labor in Xin gian g. They cite the historic significance of Uyghur agricultural workers as a long-standing labor force for manual cotton harvesting and staffing companies' widespread recruitment of Uyghur workers due to lower travel costs. In their view, "... the labor demand of Uyghur seasonal cotton pickers in south Xin gian g is largely decided by its relatively low degree of agricultural capitalization, not due to the 'special treatment' towards labor migrants of a certain ethnic minority."[46]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  2. ^abMillward, James A (July 2009).Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xin gian g.Columbia University Press.p. 157.ISBN9780231139250.
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