Two farmers follow a self-driven seeding machine on a cotton field in Shihezi, Xinjiang on April 21. Photo: Zhang Dan/GT

China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday fiercely pushed back against accusations and lies pushed by some anti-China forces in the West about so-called forced labor in industries in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, calling these forces are actually seeking for "forced layoff" in the region.   

"After targeting Xinjiang's cotton industry, now some Western countries and anti-China forces are extending their dirty hands to the solar energy industry," Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. "Their intention is to fabricate lies such as 'forced labor' to seek 'forced industrial decoupling' and 'forced layoff' in Xinjiang."

Her comment came after a US solar industry association issued a guideline last week claiming that it could "help to get rid of products in the US made with components built abroad using forced labor."

Hua said that these anti-China forces trying all measures to clamp down on specific enterprises and industries in China to achieve their sinister scheme of sowing chaos in Xinjiang and contain China, reiterating that there is no forced labor in Xinjiang.

Workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including ethnic minorities, choose the jobs based on their own wishes and they sign labor contracts voluntarily based on the principle of equality, Hua said.  

The spokesperson also noted that there are growing objective and fair voices about Xinjiang. 

US independent news websites Gray Zone and Counterpunch, media outlets from Australia, Brazil, Singapore and Sweden, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, the former mayor of Norway's Frogn municipality and French writers have published articles and books pointing out that the alleged forced labor and genocide in Xinjiang are purely nonsense, according to Hua.

However, some people in the US would rather believe the lies of the 20 fake scholars and witnesses, rather than hearing the voices from ethnic people in Xinjiang and around the world, Hua said. 

"Any conspiracy to suppress Xinjiang's economic and social development and undermine Xinjiang's prosperity and stability in order to contain China is doomed to fail," Hua said.  

Global Times