Dec. 23 (UPI) — U.S. chipmaker Intel apologized on Thursday for telling suppliers to avoid sourcing products and labor in China’s controversial Xinjiang region, a warning that drew a backlash from Beijing.
Critics and human rights advocates worldwide have condemned China for abuses of the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang province in China’s northwest.
They say Xinjiang is the location of “re-education” camps where China has detained Uyghur members and other minority groups, where forced labor is involved.
“Although our original intention was to ensure compliance with U.S. laws, this letter has caused many questions and concerns among our cherished Chinese partners, which we deeply regret,” Intel said, according to CNN.
Intel said its letter to suppliers was an effort to align with U.S. regulations and foreign policy. The White House and organizations like Amnesty International have assailed China for the purported abuses.
The government in Beijing has long denied the accusations.
“We apologize for the trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners and the public,” Intel said, according to The Guardian.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Thursday that it would have been bad business for Intel to exclude products and workers from Xinjiang.
“We hope the relevant company can respect the facts and distinguish right from wrong,” Zhao said, according to Xinhua.
“The people of Xinjiang are hardworking and brave, and Xinjiang’s products are of good quality. If a certain company chooses not to use Xinjiang products, it is their loss.”(function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id))return;js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=’https://embed.ex.co/sdk.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}(document,’script’,’exco-sdk’));