As forced labor is again linked to Chinese solar production, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson boasts of strength in the industry and doubles down on dismissal of concerns.
Uyghur forced labor in the production of Chinese-produced solar panel components has reportedly been well documented, yet the Chinese continue to dismiss domestic and foreign concerns regarding forced labor as a big lie. These accusations come as the Chinese are being investigated by the department of commerce for tariff dodging.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian was asked June 8 about Uyghur forced labor in the Xinjiang region, specifically relating to the solar panel components that are produced en masse in the region. He boasted of Chinese dominance, stating, "China is the world’s largest photovoltaic manufacturer and has more installed capacity than anyone else. Xinjiang is the world’s most important production base of polysilicon, an essential material of the PV industry."
Zhao went on to yet again dismiss allegations of forced labor as the "lie of the century," and accused the U.S., currently estimated to be 85% reliant on Chinese solar products, of fabricating lies to increase their competitive edge.
"'Forced labor' in Xinjiang is a lie deliberately made up and spread by the U.S. to shut China out of the global supply and industrial chains," Zhao said.
Zhao's dismissal of the Uyghur abuse comes shortly after The Xinjiang Police Files were released, which verify the global concerns about Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang and show significant government involvement in the process.
According to Commerce Newswire, the U.S. Commerce Department is currently investigating solar imports from Asian nations after a complaint alleged that the Chinese were funneling imports through Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia to dodge U.S. tariffs first implemented under former President Barack Obama.
In the meantime, the U.S. is "temporarily facilitating U.S. solar deployers’ ability to source solar modules and cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam by providing that those components can be imported free of certain duties for 24 months in order to ensure the U.S. has access to a sufficient supply of solar modules to meet electricity generation needs while domestic manufacturing scales up," the White House announcement said.
