Chinese Foreign Ministry calls on BASF and Volkswagen not to leave Xinjiang – Kommersant

After Volkswagen Group and BASF reported possible closure of their businesses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called allegations of forced labor of Uyghurs in the region “the lie of the century, concocted by anti-China forces to discredit China” and cut off the Chinese economy from outsiders. markets. “We hope that interested enterprises will rely on facts, distinguish truth from lies, and cherish the opportunity to invest and develop in Xinjiang,” the Foreign Ministry said in response to a written request. The New York Times.

Last Thursday, February 15, US authorities arrested thousands of Porsches, Bentleys and Audis because they contained parts that may have been produced using forced Uyghur labor. A ban on the import of such products into the United States was adopted back in 2021. Immediately after this, Volkswagen said it could terminate the contract with one of its key partners in China, the state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), if an investigation revealed that the parts were indeed produced illegally. The German automaker noted that all possible scenarios for the further existence of the joint venture between VW and SAIC in Xinjiang are now being studied.

Earlier, on February 9, the German chemical concern BASF said that at the end of 2023 it began to sell off its shares in two joint ventures operating in Xinjiang. The company noted that while its audits did not reveal human rights violations at any of the sites, “recently published reports relating to the joint venture partner contain serious allegations indicating activities inconsistent with BASF’s values.”

Kirill Sarkhanyants