"Old H&M comment on 'forced labour' in China's Xinjiang raises online storm", 24 March 2021

At least one Chinese online retailer appeared to drop H&M’s products amid social media attacks on the Swedish company for saying it was “deeply concerned” about reports of forced labour in the farwestern region of Xinjiang. [...]

H&M had previously said in a statement it was “deeply concerned by reports from civil society organisations and media that include accusations of forced labour” and that it did not source products from Xinjiang. [...]

H&M’s official store on Alibaba’s Tmall, an e-commerce platform, was not accessible on Wednesday. The official People’s Daily reported that searches for H&M products on platforms JD.com and Pinduoduo no longer showed any results. Reuters was unable to determine if such products were previously available.

Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. [...]

“Spreading rumours to boycott Xinjiang cotton, while also wanting to make money in China? Wishful thinking!” the Communist Youth League, the youth wing of China’s ruling party, said in a post on the Weibo social media platform.

In another post, the League referred to remarks made by China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, at a combative meeting with his U.S. counterparts last week in Alaska, where, referring to various U.S. actions, he said the Chinese people “won’t swallow this”. [...]