BEIJING (AP) – Chinese state television called for a boycott of H&M on Thursday when Beijing lashed out at foreign clothing and shoe brands following Western sanctions against Chinese officials accused of human rights violations in the Xinjiang region.
The ruling Communist Party criticized H&M for stopping buying cotton from China’s northwestern region in March 2020. The Swedish retailer joined other brands and expressed concerns about reports of forced labor there.
The party newspaper Global Times also criticized Burberry’s statements, Adidas, Nike, New Balance and Zara talked about Xinjiang two years ago.
“For companies hitting the bottom line of our country, the answer is very clear: don’t buy!” China Central Television said on its social media account. It said that the H and M in the Swedish name stood for Chinese words meaning lie and untruth.
The attacks follow Monday’s decision by the 27-nation European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada to impose travel and financial sanctions on four Chinese officials blamed for abuse in Xinjiang.
According to foreign researchers and governments, more than 1 million people in Xinjiang, most of whom are predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, are locked up in labor camps. Beijing denies mistreating them and says it seeks to promote economic development and eradicate radicalism.
“The alleged existence of forced labor in the Xinjiang region is totally fictional,” said a Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng. He called on foreign companies to “correct wrong practices” but did not say what was expected of them.
Celebrities, including Wang Yibo, a popular singer and actor, announced that they were breaking endorsement deals with H&M and Nike.
H&M products were missing from China’s most popular ecommerce platforms, Alibaba Group’s TMall and JD.com. News reports said they had been removed due to public criticism of the Xinjiang statement. The companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Beijing often attacks foreign apparel, car, travel and other brands for actions by their governments or to pressure companies to conform to its official positions on Taiwan, Tibet and other sensitive issues.
Companies usually apologize and change websites or advertisements to maintain access to China, one of the largest global markets. But Xinjiang is an unusually delicate issue. Western brands are under pressure at home to distance themselves from potential abuse.
A drop in sales in China, the only major economy where consumer spending has rebounded above pre-pandemic levels, could be particularly painful at a time when demand in the US and Europe is weak.
H&M Group “does not represent any political position” and “respects Chinese consumers,” the company said on its social media account.
The company said it does business with 350 Chinese manufacturers to create products that “adhere to the principles of sustainable development.” H&M said it is “committed to long-term investment and development in China.”
H&M had 520 stores and $ 1.4 billion in sales in China in 2019, the last year reported on annual figures. China is the third largest market after Germany and the United States.
The criticism began when the ruling party’s Youth League drew attention to last March’s H&M statement on its social media account on Wednesday. It did not provide any clue as to why it named the company, or any explanation for quoting a year-old statement.
“Spread lies to boycott Xinjiang while you want to make money in China? Wishful thinking, ”said the Youth League.
The Global Times said Burberry, Adidas, Nike and New Balance also made “sharp comments” about Xinjiang cotton. A separate Global Times report cited what it said as a statement by Zara that it had a “zero tolerance approach to forced labor.”
Last year’s H&M statement cited a decision by the Better Cotton Initiative, an industry group that promotes environmental and labor standards, to stop licensing Xinjiang cotton because it became “increasingly difficult” to track how it was produced. In September, H&M announced it would stop working with a Chinese manufacturer accused of using forced labor in a unit unrelated to the Swedish brand.
In January, Washington imposed an import ban on cotton from Xinjiang, a major supplier to garment manufacturers for Western markets.
China’s official outrage was aimed at Europe, possibly because relations with the EU had been friendly amid resentment with Washington over trade disputes and allegations of Chinese espionage and technology theft.
The official criticism of H&M echoed that grievance when he was hurt by a friend.
“How can H&M eat Chinese rice and then break the Chinese pot?” state television said in a comment on Wednesday.
In responses on the Internet, clothing brands Uniqlo of Japan and The Gap of the United States were mentioned as other possible offenders. It was unclear how many of those accounts were members of the public and how many were controlled by the ruling party’s massive propaganda apparatus.
Xinjiang was not mentioned in pop star Wang’s announcement that he was stepping down as Nike’s ‘brand ambassador’. He said he “resists vigorously all words and actions that pollute China”.
Others, including singer and actress Song Qian, a former member of the Korean pop group f (x) also known as Victoria Song, and actor Huang Xuan, who announced they would be ending endorsement deals with H&M. Actress Tang Songyun said she was severing ties with Nike.
Chinese sports shoe brand ANTA announced it was withdrawing from BCI, the industrial cotton group.