Car manufacturer considering withdrawal
Beijing: Volkswagen should not believe the forced labour lie
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Following BASF, Volkswagen is also considering withdrawing from the Chinese province of Xinjiang. However, Beijing now claims that there is no truth to the allegations of forced labor by Uighurs. The car manufacturer should distinguish “truth from lies.”
The Chinese leadership has reacted angrily to the possible withdrawal of the car manufacturer Volkswagen from the Xinjiang province due to reports of forced labor. In response to a request from the AFP news agency, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said that German companies should not be “deceived by the lies” about the situation in Xinjiang. They must distinguish “the truth from the lie.”
The ministry responded to a request to comment on VW's decision to review the “future direction of business activities” in Xinjiang. The company had explained that “various scenarios” were being discussed. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” quoted company sources as saying “We want to get out of there”. However, a withdrawal would not be easy.
VW operates a factory and a test track in the province in a joint venture with the state-owned Chinese carmaker Saic. The “Handelsblatt” newspaper reported on Wednesday that Uighur forced laborers may have been involved in the construction of the test track.
In recent days, VW has come under increasing pressure to follow the example of the German chemical giant BASF and withdraw from Xinjiang. BASF announced last week that it would sell its shares in two joint venture companies there more quickly following reports of human rights violations in its activities in Xinjiang.
