In pics: Factory boss defiant as sanctions bite in China's Xinjiang

SUMMARY

A backlash against reports of forced labour and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China's cotton industry, but it's unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways.

By APMay 25, 2021 5:46:49 PM IST (Published)

A car is driven past a billboard showing machines harvesting cotton outside a Huafu Fashion plant, as seen during a government-organized trip for foreign journalists, in Aksu in western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Li Qiang, general manager of Huafu Fashion, speaks outside the company's plant during a government-organized trip for foreign journalists. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A worker check machines processing cotton yarn at a Huafu Fashion plant. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A backlash against reports of forced labour and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China's cotton industry, but it's unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A worker watches as a machine processes cotton yarn at a Huafu Fashion plant. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A worker packages spools of cotton yarn at a Huafu Fashion plant, as seen during a government-organized trip for foreign journalists, in Aksu in western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)