The calendar is very political: a few days after a diplomatic pass between China and the European Union on the repression of minorities in Xinjiang, the world number one in ready-to-wear, H&M and more than a dozen Western brands are the target of a boycott campaign in China. Launched Wednesday March 24 by nationalist Internet users, calls for a boycott were quickly followed up: Thursday, H&M products had disappeared from Alibaba’s main online sales sites, JD.com and Pinduoduo.
H&M stores had even disappeared from online map apps, like Baidu Maps. Nationalist Internet users blame the Swedish channel for a press release published six months ago in which it announced that it was giving up using cotton from Xinjiang in its clothes. The campaign now extends to other brands which have also ended the use of cotton from Xinjiang, such as Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo, New Balance, Gap… Luxury is also targeted, with Burberry.
The moment is not trivial: Monday, the European Union imposed sanctions against three Chinese politicians and a paramilitary organization involved in the repression of Muslim minorities (Uighurs, Kazakhs in particular) in Xinjiang, soon joined by the United States , the United Kingdom and Canada.
An “ignorant and arrogant” position
This is the first time that Europe has sanctioned Chinese officials since the Tianamen massacre in 1989. In reaction, China has sanctioned a dozen European personalities and organizations, including the Social Democrat MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who actively denounces the repression of the Uighurs, the researcher Adrian Zenz, at the origin of many revelations on the subject, or the research center Merics, specializing in China.
Thursday, on Chinese social networks, some film themselves setting fire to their collection of Nike sneakers. The #jesoutienslecotonduxinjiang hashtag is the most discussed on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter-like microblogging site, with over a billion views and 8 million comments. Several Chinese stars have ended their collaborations with H&M and Nike. According to videos posted online, shopping centers have even taken down signs indicating the presence of an H&M store.
If the campaign seems to have been launched by Internet users, Wednesday, several state media and official organizations actively relayed it. For example, the Communist Youth League wrote: “Spreading rumors to boycott Xinjiang cotton while trying to make money in China?” It is to delude yourself. “ The People’s Liberation Army account, the Chinese Army, qualified H & M’s position as“Ignorant and arrogant”.
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