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Farmers wait to sell cotton in Shawan, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the largest cotton-growing area in China. Photo: Xinhua

G7 says there is no place for ‘state-sponsored’ forced labour in veiled dig at China’s Xinjiang policies

  • G7 trade ministers vow to eliminate the practice and express concern about it being imposed on vulnerable people and minorities
  • Western criticism of China’s treatment of the Uygurs has intensified amid allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang cotton production
G7
Trade ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations have agreed to eliminate forced labour and shared their concern over such state-sponsored practice on minorities, in a veiled criticism of China’s treatment of Muslim Uygurs in its far-western Xinjiang region.

“We affirm that there is no place for forced labour in the rules-based multilateral trading system,” the ministers said in a joint statement on Friday following their virtual meeting hosted by Britain, expressing their concern over “state-sponsored forced labour of vulnerable groups and minorities.”

They noted in the first joint statement of the G7 on the issue that about 25 million people worldwide are subject to forced labour and urged nations, institutions and businesses to work together “to eradicate forced labour from global supply chains”.

01:50

China claims improved living standards and ethnic equality in Xinjiang while ignoring allegations

China claims improved living standards and ethnic equality in Xinjiang while ignoring allegations
The call comes amid intensified criticism from the United States and other Western countries over China’s human rights abuses against the Uygurs in the wake of allegations of forced labour behind the cotton production process.

The G7 ministers referred to the state-sponsored forced labour of vulnerable groups and minorities in the agricultural, solar and garment sectors but did not single out China.

China denies it is systematically mistreating Uygurs and has accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs.

02:38

Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton

Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
US President Joe Biden has made human rights a focus of his foreign policy, imposing trade restrictions on Chinese companies over the situation in Xinjiang and criticising the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Japan’s Koichi Hagiuda told reporters afterwards that a new team would be set up within his ministry to address the forced labour issue.

06:33

G7, Nato rhetoric mark ‘seismic shift’ between China and the West

G7, Nato rhetoric mark ‘seismic shift’ between China and the West

The G7 nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – plus the European Union also agreed on the principles of digital trade and said they “oppose digital protectionism and authoritarianism”.

In a separate document, they called for “unjustified obstacles to cross-border data flows” to be addressed, “while continuing to address privacy, data protection, the protection of intellectual property rights, and security”.

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