CHINA VS GLOBALISATION

Several international brands like Burberry, H&M, Nike etc have boycotted the usage of Xinjiang cotton,
which was being procured through China. This major move was taken because the companies claimed
that the cotton being produced involved forced labour, human right abuses and some workers being
transferred from one place to another to pick cotton. They even compared the policies and work
environment to “genocide”. UN, human right groups and several organizations claim that China has
detained nearly 1 million Uygur people and other Muslim minorities and that they have to face the
brunt of forces labor, torturous conditions and pedagogy. However the Chinese continue to deny all the
accusations and recently backlashed against these international brands, boycotting them.

Chinese actors and celebrities posted their statements, supporting the Xinjiang cotton usage and cutting
ties with the international fashion houses. They strongly believe that national integrity comes first and
foremost.

China produces 22% of the world’s cotton, out of which 84% is Xinijiang cotton. Though this move may
affect the foreign trade, the local fashion brands seem to benefit from this move, promoting their
brands and pledging their allegiance to Xinijiang cotton. This has garnered the support of the Chinese
government as well. China is expected to be the largest luxury brand market by 2025 according to a
December report by Bain and Company.

One of the many habits of China noticed by me is punish an offending trading partner by cutting of ties
with it completely. As one author notes, China now faces ‘the historically unprecedented choice‘
of either ‘accepting and assimilating into the international system under Western leadership, or
using its own economic resources as a great power to seek changes, in order to bring about a
system more advantageous to China’.

The major step also shows how China is paving way to become completely self reliant and
independent, at the cost of patriotism vs consumerism.