SHANGHAI, Jan 4, Reuters - Tesla's announcement that it opened a showroom in Xinjiang attracted criticism from U.S. rights and trade groups, making it the latest foreign firm caught up in tensions related to the far-western Chinese region.
Xinjiang has become a major point of conflict between Western governments and China in recent years, as U.N. experts and rights groups estimate more than a million people have been detained in camps there, mainly Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities.
China has rejected accusations of forced labour or other abuse there, saying that the camps provide vocational training and that companies should respect its policies there. The showroom was opened in Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi, on its official Weibo account last Friday. On the last day of 2021 we meet in Xinjiang, according to the post https: weibo.com 3615027564 L 8 BBG 9 VvH? The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest U.S. Muslim advocacy organization, has criticised the move, saying that Tesla is supporting genocide. The United States has labelled China's treatment of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang as genocide. The United States and a number of other countries plan to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics in February due to the issue.
Elon Musk must close Tesla's Xinjiang showroom, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said on its official Twitter account https://www.twitter.com CAIRNational status 1478184977575344353, referring to Tesla's founder.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The carmaker has a factory in Shanghai, and is ramping up production there because of the surge in sales in China.
In recent months a lot of foreign firms have been tripped up by tensions between the West and China over Xinjiang, as they try to balance Western pressure with China's importance as a market and supply base.
In July, Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported a 23% drop in local currency sales in China for its March-May quarter after it was hit by a consumer boycott in March for stating that it did not source products from Xinjiang.
U.S. chipmaker Intel faced similar calls last month after telling its suppliers not to source products or labour from Xinjiang, prompting it to apologize for the trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners, and the public. Washington bans imports such as Xinjiang cotton or blacklists Chinese companies that it says have aided Beijing's policy there, many foreign brands operate stores there.