China urges companies not to be fooled by ‘lies’ about Xinjiang’s rights protection record

China on Thursday urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its record on rights protection in Xinjiang, after German carmaker Volkswagen said it was discussing the future of its activities in the troubled region.

Human rights activists have accused Beijing for years of repressing Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labor and internment camps.

Beijing denies accusations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang help combat extremism and promote development.

Germany’s Handelsblatt financial daily reported this week that Volkswagen may have used forced labor when building a test track in Turpan, Xinjiang, in 2019.

Volkswagen said on Wednesday it had found no evidence of human rights abuses related to the project but vowed to investigate any new information that comes to light.

Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement to AFP that accusations of abuses in the region were “completely fabricated lies … aimed at destabilizing Xinjiang”.

It urges companies to “respect facts, distinguish right from wrong, and not be blinded by lies.”

Volkswagen said this week it was in talks with its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC Motor over the “future direction of its business activities in Xinjiang,” in a clear sign that its operations in the region are under increasing pressure.

“The various scenarios are currently being studied in depth,” Volkswagen said in a statement.

Beijing said on Thursday that “the human rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are protected to the maximum extent”.

The statement added that the accusations of human rights violations in the northwest region were aimed at “discrediting and suppressing China.”

“Currently, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic development, ethnic unity and religious harmony,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

rights issue

Beijing is accused of holding more than one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.

Activists and Uyghurs abroad say a range of abuses take place in these facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilization and political indoctrination.

A 2022 United Nations report detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment, sexual or gender-based violence and forced labor in the region.

But it stopped short of calling Beijing’s actions “genocide,” as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.

After German chemicals giant BASF announced last week that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures in Xinjiang, there are growing calls for Volkswagen to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang is home to numerous factories that supply multinational companies, including well-known Western brands.

Volkswagen has long been under scrutiny for its plant in the city of Urumqi, which it opened in 2013 and in which it holds a stake through its partner SAIC Motor.

An external audit commissioned by Volkswagen last year found no evidence of forced labor among the plant’s 197 employees.

But the consulting firm that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges of collecting data” for conducting audits in China.

The Turpan test track was not included in the audit.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – AFP)