Because Of The United States, This Chinese Textile Company That Has Uighur Employees Loses Rp.895 Billion

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - One of the textile companies in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China, suffered a loss of up to 400 million yuan or around Rp.895.8 billion as a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States government since December 2020.

"All orders were reduced. We lost 400 million yuan," said Li Qiang, GM Huafu Textile Co Ltd, as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, April 21.

Huafu is one of several companies in Xinjiang that has been sanctioned by the US Ministry of Commerce over the issue of forced labor against the Uighur Muslim ethnic minority.

Li denied the allegations, saying that his 5,000 employees, including 80 percent of whom were Uyghurs, earned a salary of 3,500-4,000 yuan (Rp. 7.8 million - Rp.8.9 million) per month. The standard wage for workers at Aksu is only 1,600 yuan per month.

About 2,000 of its employees live in a mess where the rooms are divided between male workers and female workers free of charge.

"Our employees, who are husband and wife, rent houses around here," said Li.

In the company area, a halal canteen and a special sports field are also provided for its employees.

In running its business, Huafu operates a yarn spinning machine by implementing an employee work system of three work schedules a day, each of which is eight hours. Five working days a week.

Before being sanctioned, Huafu became the main supplier of well-known apparel brands with global networks, such as H&M, Uniqlo, Adidas, Nike and Zara.

Huafu apparel products are exported to Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea with an annual export capacity of 100,000 tons worth 3 billion yuan.

"Since the sanctions, we are now more focused on the domestic market," said Li.

Pazilia Tursun (27), operator of the Huafu yarn spinning machine, said she was happy working at the company.

"If you are asked to do forced labor, it is impossible for me and my friends to survive here," said the Uighur woman who has worked in Huafu since 2015.