Car maker Tesla is facing a wave of criticism after opening a branch in Urumqi city, located in China's Xinjiang region.

After the announcement on December 31, Elon Musk's company indicated on Twitter that its new center would provide sales, service and delivery.

If this may have pleased Chinese aficionados of the brand, many activists have called for a boycott, reports the BBC.

The country of Xi Jinping is accused of exploiting in this region of northwest China more than a million Uyghurs, a minority Muslim population.

Several NGOs had reported that a large number of them were interned in forced labor camps.

They are said to be subjected to ill-treatment and even torture.

The United States' turn of the screw

Associations and political figures have called on Tesla to abandon its new point of sale.

In a tweet, the conservative senator from Florida (United States) Marco Rubio sees it as a form of surety for the acts imposed on the Uyghurs.

"Societies without nationality are helping the Chinese Communist Party to cover up the genocide and forced labor in the region," he describes.

Right after President Biden signed Sen.

Rubio's Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law, @Tesla opened a store in #Xinjiang.

Nationless corporations are helping the Chinese Communist Party cover up genocide and slave labor in the region.

https://t.co/2yWBTQSLbM

- Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) January 3, 2022

The Chinese government continues to deny these accusations.

As reported by Canadian radio CBC, China explained that the camps were intended for vocational training and the fight against extremism.

But the White House can hardly believe it and announced this Tuesday, January 4, the end of imports of products from Xinjiang, unless it is proven that they do not come from forced labor.

The automaker has still not reacted to the criticisms aimed at it.

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