Germany denies China investment guarantees over human rights in Xinjiang
- The government did not named the company involved, but local media said it was car giant Volkswagen, which operates a factory in the region’s capital, Urumqi
- Economy Minister Robert Habeck said this was the first time an investment guarantee has been refused on human rights grounds
Germany has refused investment guarantees in China due to human rights issues in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Friday.
The decision was the “first time an investment guarantee has not been given on human rights grounds”, the minister told Welt am Sonntag weekly.
Habeck did not name the company but Der Spiegel magazine said the refusal related to car giant Volkswagen.
Opened in 2013, Volkswagen operates a factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi together with its Chinese partner SAIC.
01:31
UN human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet arrives in China for Xinjiang visit
China’s Communist Party is accused of detaining over 1 million Uygurs and people from other Muslim minorities in the far-western region as part of a years-long crackdown the United States and lawmakers in other Western countries have labelled a “genocide”.