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China’s corruption agency warns Walmart and Sam’s Club over Xinjiang products
- Social media users in China claim Sam’s Club withdrew Xinjiang-sourced products
- Central Commission for Discipline Inspection says retailer’s apparent move ‘reveals stupidity and short-sightedness’
China’s anti-corruption agency on Friday accused US retail giant Walmart Inc and its Sam’s Club chain of “stupidity and shorted-sightedness” after social media users alleged that Sam’s Club had removed Xinjiang-sourced products from stores.
Last week, Sam’s Club came under fire in China after users of the Weibo social media platform shared screenshots allegedly showing that products from the far-western Chinese region of Xinjiang had been taken down from the store’s online app.
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Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
Global brands face backlash in China for rejecting Xinjiang cotton
The social media row erupted soon after US President Joe Biden signed into law on December 23 legislation banning imports from Xinjiang over concern about forced labour there.
Neither Walmart nor Sam’s Club have made public statements on the matter, and Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), in a statement on its website, accused Sam’s Club of boycotting Xinjiang products and trying to “muddle through” the issue of Xinjiang by remaining silent.
“To take down all products from a region without a valid reason hides an ulterior motive, reveals stupidity and short-sightedness, and will surely have its own bad consequences,” the commission said.
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