China Focus: Xinjiang firms fight back US sanctions to protect local jobs

URUMQI -- Gulnur Akhniyaz, a mother of two from Aksu prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang, joined Aksu Huafu Textiles Company in 2021 as a knitter to support her family, only to have her dream of a better life disrupted by an unexpected layoff.

In May 2020, the textiles company was sanctioned by the United States, causing a sharp decline in its overseas orders and resulting in a revenue loss of more than 3 billion yuan (about $417 million).

By June 2022, Gulnur, along with over 1,000 fellow workers — most of them Uygur women — lost her job.

"When I had the job, I had a stable income and worked close to home, so I could always get back quickly whenever I needed to," Gulnur said.

Over the past two years, due to having to care for her children and parents, she couldn't travel far for work, so she resorted to farming in her village and taking odd jobs, earning a pittance in return. "Why are they so cruel? Why do they want to see us suffer?" Gulnur asked, still troubled by the layoff triggered by the sanctions.

Since 2018, more than 40 enterprises and three non-business entities in Xinjiang have been sanctioned on grounds of so-called "forced labor," and the operation of over 100 enterprises in the region had been disrupted by Western sanctions by the end of 2023, official figures showed.

Impacted by the sanction, the average annual number of workers employed by textile, garment and accessories companies decreased by 28.6 percent in the downstream of Xinjiang's textile and clothing industrial chain last year.

This means that many ordinary families have had to suffer from job losses caused by the unilateral sanctions.

Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Tex Stock Co Ltd, a globally recognized high-end brand in the apparel industry, has reduced its workforce by 17 percent. The company was added to the US sanctions list in September 2023 and saw its export sales plummeted 95.7 percent last year.

In response to the forced labor allegations tied to the sanctions, the company expressed confusion, stressing that its employee welfare has been "exceptionally good."

"We have always respected the dignity and labor of our workers, safeguarding all of their legitimate rights. We also place great emphasis on professional training," said Mamat Niyaz, an executive at the woolen mill of Tianshan Wool Tex.

Experts and industry practitioners said claims about "forced labor" in Xinjiang are based on unwarranted reports and statements by anti-China personalities. Sanctions in the name of "forced labor" claims only led to forced unemployment in Xinjiang.

The United States imposed sanctions on Xinjiang as part of its strategy to contain China, masking trade protectionism under the guise of "global ethics" and using legal measures to disrupt competitors, said Zhu Ningbo, associate professor at East China University of Science and Technology.

"The targets are all Xinjiang's star industries," she said. "They piled up moral pressures to coerce companies to leave Xinjiang and used economic means to exclude Xinjiang products, thus, isolating the region."

TIDING OVER THE STORM

Through the unremitting efforts of both the government and enterprises, some sanctioned companies have regained vitality and recovered some employments.

Among them is Hotan Teda Garment Co Ltd, founded by ambitious entrepreneur Wang Wenhua in 2017 in southern Xinjiang's Hotan prefecture. Within a year, the company had expanded to employ over 2,400 people and invested in equipment worth $7 million.

"By locating the factory here, we could save 10 cents on the cost of each garment, as our exports would be shipped directly to the nearby Gwadar port in Pakistan. My plan was to earn only the 10 cents per unit and pass the rest of the profits onto our employees," Wang explained. "Our goal was to spend three years helping them acquire skills, transforming them from farmers into industrial workers with stable jobs and income."

However, Teda has faced sanctions three times since 2018, losing all its international markets, with direct and indirect losses exceeding $98 million. In its worst time, almost all its production lines were halted.

The company managed to recover partially, thanks in large part to the local government's support, which has helped secure numerous domestic orders over the past two years.

"Our company is now performing well and the number of employees has grown to over 560. The average monthly salary has also risen to more than 2,560 yuan, with the highest exceeding 4,000 yuan," Wang said.

In response to the sanctions, Tianshan Wool Tex has actively adjusted its business structure and expanded its marketing channels through the internet. As of now, the company has achieved an operating revenue of 466 million yuan, reflecting a nearly 50-percent increase year on year.

The company is also capitalizing on opportunities brought about by Belt and Road cooperation, and actively participating in exhibitions and trade fairs, receiving purchase orders from new destinations, according to the company's chairman Liu Zhongbin.

Last year, Xinjiang's textile and clothing exports reached a total of 107.6 billion yuan. This included yarns, fibers and related products valued at 16.99 billion yuan, marking a 74 percent increase from the previous year. Apparel and accessories exports amounted to 90.6 billion yuan, reflecting a 29.1 percent growth compared to the previous year.