News
The G7 wants to establish a new global infrastructure initiative. The Western states are also focusing on human rights. This is intended to set them apart from China. Beijing's New Silk Road is all too often based on the exploitation of Chinese workers. The problem is that cheap labor is a competitive advantage for China that the G7 initiative can hardly make up for.
By Nico Beckert
After calls for boycotts against foreign companies in China, the first affected textile producers are buckling. Among others, the Japanese company Muji distances itself from the suspicion of forced labour on the cotton fields in Xinjiang, in order not to endanger its business in the People's Republic. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is increasing the pressure on the companies.
By Marcel Grzanna
H M products disappear from Internet platforms in China. Taxi drivers can no longer find store addresses on their mobile phones: The boycott calls against H M, Nike, or Adidas reveal the fundamental problem of foreign companies in the People's Republic. They are caught between value-oriented demands from the West and the threatening wrath of an authoritarian government with the world's largest consumer market behind it. The truth is that the boycotts often die down quickly, and the damage to the companies is rarely permanent.
By Marcel Grzanna