Aerial photo taken on Oct. 17, 2020 shows a cotton harvesting machine working in a field in Manas County, Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Changji, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Some Western politicians have been obsessed with fabricating lies over China's Xinjiang out of ideological prejudice and personal political gains. In front of facts and truths, their self-dealing attempts are doomed to fail.
Cotton pickers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region sign labor contracts with cotton growers based on equality, free will and consensus, while the mechanization rate for cotton picking in the region reached 70 percent in 2020. The Better Cotton Initiative's team in China has never found a single incident related to "forced labor" in Xinjiang, according to the latest statement of the Switzerland-based organization's Shanghai office.
China's Xinjiang policy serves the best interests of Xinjiang and the whole country and has proven effective by Xinjiang's socio-economic achievements. Official data show that the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Xinjiang increased 8.3 percent annually on average in the last five years. More than 50 percent of farmers in Xinjiang grow cotton, which contributes over 80 percent of the region's agricultural income, while the textile industry has created nearly 600,000 local jobs.
In this case, the way anti-China forces in the West stigmatize Xinjiang speaks volumes about the true intentions behind the staged farce -- to undermine China's security and stability and stop China from growing stronger. Their concern for Xinjiang's human rights is fake. What they believe is that such moves can help "score points" for their political careers.
Evidence for their conspiracy abound. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, has admitted that the so-called Xinjiang issue was nothing but a U.S. strategic plot to destabilize and contain China from within, according to a video showed to reporters at a press conference of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Spreading rumors related to Xinjiang has economic motives as well. China is the world's second-largest cotton producer, and Xinjiang accounts for nearly 90 percent of the country's cotton output. As the world's largest cotton exporter, the United States hyped up the Xinjiang issue as early as last February during the Trump administration and has issued a ban on cotton products from Xinjiang. Under the pretext of protecting human rights, Washington is attempting to bolster production at home.
Photo taken on Oct. 17, 2020 shows a machine harvesting cotton in a field in Wenjiazhuang Village, Manasi County of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
It is a shame that based merely on lies, certain foreign brands have refused to use Xinjiang cotton, jumping on the political campaign bandwagons smearing China. And no wonder those moves have triggered indignation among the Chinese public.
The Chinese market is always open to those who comply with laws and regulations. China welcomes foreign companies to invest in the country and always creates a good investment environment. No companies or individuals can get away with hurting Chinese interests while making profits in the Chinese market.
For the handful of Western clowns who are still weaving stories about Xinjiang, their dirty politics will surely trigger great indignation and strong counterattacks from the Chinese people, including the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Attempts to suppress China's development by tainting pure Xinjiang cotton will lead nowhere but a dead end. ■
