GT Voice: Anti-China Forces Can Never Halt Xinjiang’s Growth

By Global Times

Apr 15, 2021 08:54 PM

Farmers cover field with plastic films in Yuli County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 28, 2021. (Wang Zhipeng/Xinhua)

The photovoltaic industry appears to be the latest target caught up in the political farce orchestrated by anti-China forces over their cooked human rights abuse in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

In a list of questions regarding alleged "forced labor" in Xinjiang, several members of the Dutch parliament urged the Netherlands government to explain if it is aware that solar panels and other components imported from China may contain raw materials from Xinjiang, according to local media reports. 

They also asked the government to explain the possible impact on Dutch and European renewable energy markets if imports of Xinjiang-produced solar modules are suspended.

Nothing can be more hypocritical than those questions, which clearly showed that some Western politicians are never really concerned about the alleged "forced labor" related with Xinjiang. They either didn't bother to get to know the issue but choosing to turn a blind eye to the basic facts.

When the US and some other Western anti-China forces accuse Xinjiang of using "forced labor," they have never provided any evidence, but these forces keep fabricating the claim to discredit China.

China has for many times rebuked the "forced labor" fabrications by offering evidence and figures, but they have been ignored by the politicians in the US and some Western nations. Facts speak louder than words, but sometimes you can never wake up a person that is pretending to be asleep.

China is the world's largest photovoltaic modules producer, and Xinjiang is the key region for PV development, while the Netherlands is one of the fastest growing PV markets in Europe. If those Western forces label solar modules produced in Xinjiang as "forced labor" products, just like they did previously to Xinjiang cotton, and force government projects and local businesses to stop sourcing Xinjiang PV products, it would certainly raise a red flag for Xinjiang's PV industry. At the same time, the global PV market may also be vulnerable to supply chain disruption.

In fact, the alleged "forced labor" in Xinjiang region is nothing but an excuse for those anti-China forces to make up and cook human rights violations, with an aim to impede the rapid economic development in Xinjiang, by curtailing exports of Xinjiang products.

Isn't it a humiliation to true human rights when some Western anti-China forces take actions to harm a region's growth based on lies, impeding local development and improvement of people's livelihood there?

The cotton and photovoltaic industries are among the fastest growing and export-oriented sectors in Xinjiang, which have the potential to help upgrade the economic development in the autonomous region. And the impact to possibly slow down the region's pillar industries will deprive Xinjiang residents of their basic interests and the right to improving their livelihood, and that is the real violation of human rights.

Of course, anti-China forces' shame is unlikely to stop the momentum of Xinjiang's economic and social development. The region has witnessed rapid growth in areas such as renewable energy, cross-border trade. And, most importantly, China's central government will continue to channel sizable investments to Xinjiang.