Xinhua All Media+ | View丨Why is it "Xinjiang Cotton"? The "Mature Gift" of China's Advantage Industry Behind Yiduo Cotton
Text | "Liaowang" News Weekly reporter Jia Yuankun Chen Yun Fuzhi Xin
◇The malicious suppression by international organizations based on industry standards has become a new mode of "containing China". It is necessary to prevent the suppression of "Xinjiang cotton" from spreading to other industries and fields.
◇Domestic enterprises must actively establish an industrial standard system, especially a business discourse system covering the entire system from product quality, production environment to industrial values, etc., to form standards that can dialogue or even contend with the West
What is "lifting a rock and smashing oneself in the foot" may be well understood by the Better Cotton Development Association (BCI), which has been frequently promoted recently.
This seemingly "harmless to humans and animals" and relying on certification to make money in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the industry, stopped certifying Xinjiang cotton because of the so-called "forced labor". It was concentrated by major social media netizens and industry experts. Shelling.
Xinjiang cotton is a high-quality agricultural product with regional characteristics. The Xinjiang cotton industry has developed with a complete industrial chain and has become a local advantageous industry.
This round of "Xinjiang Cotton" turmoil has allowed people to thoroughly see the true face of some industry organizations: arrogance, double standards, and unlimited money collection.
Photographed at the HM store in Shanghai Global Harbor on April 1. The store is divided into two floors, with only a few customers, and it is very deserted.
Reporter You Zhixin Photo
At the same time, the incident also sounded a wake-up call to China's relevant advantageous industries.
As more and more advantageous domestic industries emerge in the international arena, more and more "soft nails" such as trade and access that have been formed in the international market may be encountered. Perhaps this is the "growth trouble".
In the development process of advantageous industries, it is necessary to gradually form industry standards and strive for the right to speak internationally in line with its own industrial status.
The white cotton is smeared
The behavior of BCI and some foreign clothing brands to discredit Xinjiang cotton has aroused the resentment of Chinese consumers. Many netizens expressed their attacks on this discriminatory behavior through online platforms.
“The planting and harvesting of cotton in Xinjiang has made significant progress, and most of them have realized mechanized production. Where is the “forced labor”? These statements fully expose the ignorance and arrogance of some Western politicians and some organizations.” said Dong Shuzhi, a senior cotton practitioner .
BCI's slander on Xinjiang Cotton is unfounded, and its own contradictions make people question the organization's professionalism.
The BCI Shanghai Representative Office recently issued a statement stating that the China project team has conducted credibility audits and verifications of the Xinjiang project site since 2012, and has never found a case of "forced labor".
Branches that have more opportunities to learn the truth come to conclusions that are quite different from those of the headquarters. Such a "dual standard" makes certification credibility discredited.
"The value of BCI should be to help companies reduce risks." A former employee of BCI China said that big brands need to ensure the efficiency of the supply chain, and they don't want to bear the risks of using child labor and deducting employee wages in OEMs, in order to maintain brand image And choose to cooperate with BCI.
According to him, because big brands do not directly purchase cotton, in order to reduce risks, these brands require foundries to join the BCI system. Products produced must use BCI-certified cotton. Therefore, BCI certification is a relatively closed system, not only for fabrics. Enterprises, garment manufacturers, upstream ginning factories, etc. must join this system.
Industry insiders believe that if the purpose of BCI is to promote industrial development and upstream manufacturers join this system, on the one hand, they can join the supply chain of major brands. On the other hand, this organization also provides some trainings such as pesticide use to ensure compliance. The requirements of downstream brands, but its original intention in the later period has deteriorated.
"This organization does not produce cotton. It collects money through membership development and issuance of certification, and after working hard to increase its popularity, it will continue to obtain greater benefits." Dong Shuzhi said.
Why is it "Xinjiang Cotton"?
The so-called "forced labor" is vain, and several sets of local production operations can reveal the truth.
Why does an international organization that advertises professionalism, transparency, and environmental protection want to smear and block Xinjiang cotton for no reason?
Some Western politicians and organizations use this advantageous industry to "make fuss" for multiple purposes.
First of all, most of the western textile industry has a "dark history" of hiring black slaves and exploiting laborers. The domestic people hate this.
Experts believe that "applying one's own history to others, even making up stories can resonate with the people in China."
Second, restricting Xinjiang cotton will harm China's textile industry.
China has a complete textile industry industrial chain.
Experts pointed out that with China’s economic development, the domestic textile industry has not faded away, but has grown in scale, with technology, brands, and research and development becoming stronger and stronger. BCI's suppression of Xinjiang cotton is to a certain extent to weaken China’s textile industry. Global competitiveness.
Thirdly, it triggered a chain reaction and caused a greater international impact.
Politics behind the scenes, business in front of the stage, discrimination of origin in the name of international organizations and industry associations, and the use of the agency's voice in the industry to force franchise companies to take joint actions are the main characteristics of this round of suppression.
The "systematic suppression" model has been reflected in many trade agreements. In the past, it was mostly through multilateral or bilateral trade agreements, etc., to solidify the results of negotiations between countries, with countries as the main body.
The "system suppression" targeting Xinjiang cotton is to commercialize political intent to attract public attention. Joint enterprise actions may have a greater impact on related industries.
Yao Weiqun, Executive Dean of the Strategic Research Institute of the International Trade Center of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, believes that the malicious suppression of international organizations using industry standards as a starting point has become a new model of "containing China". It is necessary to prevent the suppression of "Xinjiang cotton" from spreading to other industries. And fields.
A clothing store in Shanghai Global Port advertised Xinjiang cotton related products.
Reporter You Zhixin Photo
Actively establish an industry standard system
With the development of my country’s industrial economy, related companies and industries will have more competitive advantages in the global market. At the same time, the competition for dominance of European and American industries will become increasingly fierce. Some Western countries have used the long-established international discourse power system and corporate value system to carry out The phenomenon of "surrounding, chasing and intercepting" will become more apparent.
Experts believe that domestic companies should actively establish an industrial standard system, especially a business discourse system covering the entire system from product quality, production environment to industrial values, and form standards that can dialogue or even contend with the West.
Scholars Shi Zhan believes that the "Xinjiang Cotton" incident has also made the society realize that the international order is not only composed of state relations, but many rule systems are composed of non-governmental organizations, which have formulated various international business standards, product standards or general codes of conduct.
"Simply put, there are two types, one is the order dominated by sovereign states, and the other is the order dominated by commerce. The two are inextricably linked."
As one of the three largest cotton-producing countries in the world, the United States has actually begun to establish its own leading standard system.
In July 2020, the United States launched the U.S. Cotton Trust Agreement (UCTP) and declared that "in a period of increasingly stringent supply chain review and increasing demand for transparency, the United States will set new standards for sustainable cotton cultivation."
Some experts have judged that if UCTP gains control of the international cotton textile industry, my country's cotton textile industry may face a more complicated situation.
In the long run, the weight of factors such as labor rights and environmental protection in international trade and economic cooperation continues to rise. China needs to gradually consider how to integrate into the trend of international compliance in an appropriate way, actively follow up the formulation of global business rules, and enhance the advantages of competitive industries. The right to speak internationally, and give out the "Chinese voice" in the industry standard.
Chen Zilei, a professor of economics at the School of International Economics and Trade at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, believes that the operation of industrial rules should be studied in depth, including relevant business rules, trade terms, and legal regulations, so that rights and interests can be safeguarded through commercial and legal channels.
On the whole, the "economic management" of economic issues, leading to politics will only further complicate the issue.
Yao Weiqun believes that business groups are most worried about becoming targets of political and human rights attacks. Foreign-funded enterprises involved in the "Xinjiang cotton" incident may move their production and sales links out of their production and sales to economies such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Mexico.
However, the Chinese market has always been an advantageous market with huge potential and full development momentum, and it is believed that foreign-funded enterprises will make rational choices.
At the same time, domestic enterprises also need to base themselves on the local area, increase innovation, cultivate fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship, and build a new development pattern in which the domestic and international double cycles promote each other.