{"id":118199,"date":"2021-04-12T17:37:11","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T17:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=185300"},"modified":"2021-04-12T17:37:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T17:37:11","slug":"xinjiang-viscose-producer-tied-to-forced-labor-cut-off-by-finnish-supplier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/04\/12\/xinjiang-viscose-producer-tied-to-forced-labor-cut-off-by-finnish-supplier\/","title":{"rendered":"Xinjiang Viscose Producer Tied to Forced Labor Cut Off by Finnish Supplier"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Finnish supplier has become the latest firm to cut ties with companies accused of supporting a forced labor scheme in northwest China\u2019s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after it stopped providing raw materials to one of the region\u2019s largest producers of viscose adhesive fibers.<\/p>\n
On March 29, Stora Enso, the world\u2019s largest pulp and paper supplier, stopped providing the materials needed to produce viscose\u2014a type of rayon fiber that resembles cotton but is synthetically produced from cellulose or wood pulp\u2014to China\u2019s Zhongtai Chemical Co., Ltd. From 2017 to 2020, Zhongtai had imported around U.S. $367 million worth of raw materials from Finland.<\/p>\n
Zhongtai Chemical is a state-owned labor-intensive enterprise closely associated with the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, or Bingtuan, and is the main supplier of adhesive fibers to Chinese cotton and textile factories throughout the XUAR.<\/p>\n
Satu H\u00e4rk\u00f6nen, head of communications for Stora Enso, confirmed to RFA\u2019s Uyghur Service that the firm has stopped supplying XUAR companies with the raw materials for viscose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have our business relations there, but we have decided to walk away from the one business area which is global,\u201d she said, adding that Stora Enso will not be speaking further with the media until April 23.<\/p>\n
But she stressed that the reason for the decision was due to \u201cnormal market calls\u201d and \u201cnot related to any country\u201d in particular.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been in the \u2026 pulp business globally since 2013 \u2026 and [this was a] strategic decision to withdraw from one global business area, it is not related to a [specific] market,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She declined to comment on reports of human rights abuses in the XUAR, despite the fact that Stora Enso\u2019s decision was announced at a time of increased action on the issue of Uyghur forced labor across the globe.<\/p>\n
In recent days and weeks, well-known brands such as Nike, H&M, and Adidas have made public commitments to stop sourcing cotton from the XUAR, after which they were openly threatened by the Chinese government and became the targets of citizen boycotts across China.<\/p>\n