US technology giant Intel apologized to China after it told its suppliers not to buy materials from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The US Congress passed a bill on products manufactured in Xinjiang on December 17. Design; It requires China to prove that the goods produced in Xinjiang were not obtained by forced labor of the Uighurs, otherwise the importation of these products would be banned.
Following the bill, which was enacted with the approval of US President Joe Biden, Intel also called on its suppliers, which supply intermediate materials to its factories, not to buy goods from Xinjiang.
The statement appeared on Intel’s official website in Chinese and was also shared on social media accounts.
After these posts drew great reaction on social media, users in China called for a boycott of Intel products.
In response to this reaction, Intel said that the statement was made because the “Prevention of Forced Labor of Uyghurs Act” passed by Congress does not allow products from Xinjiang; He said he had nothing to do with the allegations that Uyghurs in the region were forced to work.
However, the Chinese government and Intel, which could not persuade its Chinese customers on this issue and did not manage to calm the reactions, finally announced that it “apologized for the problems it caused to its respected Chinese customers”.
Intel has 10,000 employees working in test labs and assembling products in China.
In the text of the apology, the company also stated that it is committed to “being a reliable technology partner and keeping pace with common developments in China”.
China denies the information contained in the bill accepted by the US Congress and the information about the forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
At a press conference on December 21, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “they are absolutely against the interference of US laws in China’s internal affairs and that sanctions will be imposed on four American politicians who prepared the bill within the framework of the principle of reciprocity.”
The Chinese government argues that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang “are working voluntarily”.
“We hope Intel will respect the facts and distinguish between right and wrong,” the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said at the press conference held on December 23, after Intel apologized to China.
“If the company chooses not to hire hardworking and brave people of Xinjiang and not to use very high quality products from Xinjiang, it will be its own loss.”