Xinjiang cotton firms see business improvement despite West sanctions

Representatives from Xinjiang's cotton textile industry were speaking at a virtual conference jointly held by China’s permanent mission to the UN office at Geneva and the Xinjiang regional government.

The virtual conference was also attended by representatives and diplomats from several countries' permanent missions to the UN office at Geneva as well as officials and academics based in Xinjiang.

Erkin Tuniyaz, vice chairman of the XUAR regional government, said the sanctions “are blatant power politics and bullying". He added that some Western brands' blind decision to boycott Xinjiang cotton not only cost them the Chinese market and customers and affected their reputation, but also hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, an official news agency reported.

"The American and Western politicians' disinformation and smearing cannot hinder the development of the cotton textile industry in Xinjiang," said Halmurat Musa, a representative of Xinjiang-based enterprises. "Their unreasonable sanctions will only make us more united," he said.

Halmurat Musa's company, Aksu Huafu Textiles Co, was listed on the US commerce department's ‘entity list’ in 2020 and was boycotted by some Western clothing brands.

He added that the company has adjusted market and customer structure by expanding the domestic market and actively striving for other overseas markets other than the United States.

"Now the gain in the domestic market has made up for the losses of the overseas orders," Musa said. "The company's production and sales of cotton yarn rose by 56 percent and 91 per cent year on year between January and July, and its revenue in the seven-month period more than doubled compared with the same period last year," he added.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)