More people in the international community have cast doubts over the Western sanctions against China's Xinjiang, as the sanctions use the pretext of "forced labor" to force legally operating companies to shut down, resulting in the layoffs of Uygur workers.
At the International Symposium on Employment and Social Security in Xinjiang, which was held on Monday in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, international experts reiterated the call for lifting unfair sanctions on Xinjiang.
More than 210 representatives from 44 countries, regions and organizations attended the event.
Xu Guixiang, spokesperson for the regional government, said the main purpose of the symposium is to let the world understand the real situation of employment and social security in Xinjiang. He highlighted that Xinjiang fully respects the employment wishes of its workers and is committed to protecting their basic rights in accordance with the law.
"Through working, people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have changed their production methods, lifestyles and ways of thinking and gained tangible benefits," Xu said.
Xinjiang is China's main cotton producing area, with its cotton yield accounting for over 90 percent of the national total. Cotton from Xinjiang is regarded as one of the best in the world.
Since 2018, however, more than 40 enterprises and three non-business entities from the region have been sanctioned on grounds of so-called "forced labor." Some of the sanctioned textile and garment factories had to reduce production or close down, causing many workers to lose their jobs.
Experts said the whole process of cotton farming in Xinjiang -- from plowing, sowing to harvesting -- has been basically mechanized, leaving little demand for manual labor, let alone forced labor.
"The mechanization rate of cotton harvesting in Xinjiang has reached 97 percent," said Chen Quanjia, dean of college of agricultural sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University. "Now cotton picking machines are used in all fields except for some marginal plots, where only a very small amount of manual labor is needed."
Speakers at the event agreed that claims about "forced labor" in Xinjiang are based on unwarranted reports circulating on the internet and statements by anti-China personalities. They asserted that these claims have no legal and factual basis and do not reflect the reality in Xinjiang.
"This is an international campaign against China using the lies and distorted facts about Xinjiang," said French writer Maxime Vivas.
"What I learned about life in Xinjiang and all I saw runs counter to what those who wish to detour China's progress want us to believe," said Mark Levine, an American sociologist and professor at Minzu University of China, who has visited Xinjiang three times.
"I have seen how the Chinese government and the people have worked to improve the lives of all of its people over the past 19 years. I saw the successful eradication of extreme poverty through my many travels to cities and the countryside," said Levine who has lived and worked in China since 2005.
"The businesses under sanctions are all Xinjiang's basic industries and sectors that are essential to the region's development and stability. Unilateral sanctions, under the pretext of 'forced labor,' are actually depriving the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang of the right to employment," said Li Juan, director of the legislative affairs committee, under the standing committee of the regional people's congress.
Likewise, the same logic works behind the ever lengthening sanctions list that includes, but are not limited to, textiles, tomato products, wigs, PV, and chemical industries in Xinjiang.
The present situation is that anything that is associated with Xinjiang will be accused of being related to "forced labor" and the accused needs to prove its innocence, which is a complete reversal of the burden of prove, according to Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.
"I call on the sanctioning parties to lift and suspend all unilateral sanctions applied to China, Chinese nationals and companies without the authorization of the UN Security Council," she said via video link.
By the end of 2023, relevant sanctions have disrupted the production and operational activities of over 100 enterprises in Xinjiang. In the face of suppression and blockade, Xinjiang still maintains trade relations with 192 countries and regions, according to the regional government.
Last year, Xinjiang's textile and clothing exports totaled 107.6 billion yuan (about 15 billion U.S. dollars), in which yarns, fibers and related products valued 16.99 billion yuan, a 74-percent increase from the previous year.
