China association opposes U.S. suppression on Chinese cotton industry

A cotton picker works in one of farmer Erkin Rehim's fields in Yuli County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The China Cotton Association on Saturday voiced its resolute opposition to the United States' suppression of China's cotton textile industry in the name of human rights.

The U.S. side has recently signed the so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" into law, which classifies all products produced in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as "forced labor" products and bans imports of products related to Xinjiang.

This move will continue to have an adverse impact on the Chinese cotton textile industry, and severely disrupt the cotton textile production and trade order in China and the whole world, the association said in a statement.

The U.S. side is completely ignorant that its abrupt interference will affect the legitimate rights and interests of related companies, as well as their employees, from all over the world, according to the statement.

As the second-largest cotton producer and the largest cotton importer and textile producer in the world, China has seen great progress in its cotton textile industry and has become a crucial part of the global textile industry chain, the statement said.

China's cotton and textile industry has been committed to protecting the rights and interests of its labors, improving labors' living conditions and offering stable, reliable supply-chain services to global clothing brands and retailers, the statement said, stressing that the industry should be treated fairly.

The industry will open up wider to the world and continue cooperation with its overseas counterparts, said the statement. External suppression and discredits cannot, and will not, hinder the industry's high-quality and sustainable development, it added.