(11 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing, China – 11 June 2025
1. Wide of news conference
2. Wide of reporters
3. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“No one has ever been forcibly transferred in China’s Xinjiang under work programs. The so-called allegation of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region is nothing but a lie concocted by certain anti-China forces. We urge the relevant organization to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and undermining Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability under the guise of human rights.”
4. Close of reporter
5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“China has always firmly opposed economic coercion, hegemony, and bullying. Regarding the passage of vessels from relevant countries, China will, as always, respect Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and recognize the canal’s status as a permanently neutral international waterway. We support Panama, as a sovereign and independent country, in upholding independence and autonomy and firmly safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests.”
6. Close of reporter
7. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday refuted a report by an international rights group saying several global brands are among dozens of companies at risk of using forced labor through their Chinese supply chains.
The report released earlier in the day by Global Rights Compliance said the companies might be linked because they use critical minerals or buy minerals-based products sourced from China’s far-western Xinjiang region.
It said the global brands include Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian pushed back against the allegation at a daily briefing, saying “no one has ever been forcibly transferred in China’s Xinjiang under work programs” and the claim of forced labor in Xinjiang was “nothing but a lie concocted by certain anti-China forces.”
“We urge the relevant organization to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and undermining Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability under the guise of human rights,” he said.
The report comes as China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies, met for talks aimed at easing their trade dispute.
A 2022 United Nations report found China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million Uyghurs are estimated to have been arbitrarily detained as part of measures the Chinese government said were intended to target terrorism and separatism.
The Chinese government has rejected the U.N. claims and defended its actions in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring stability.
Asked about a statement from administrator Ricaurte Vasquez of the Panama Canal that the sale of two canal ports to a consortium that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc. threatens the canal’s principle of neutrality, Lin only reiterated China’s consistent position that it opposed “economic coercion, hegemony, and bullying.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, Vasquez addressed a US request for free passage of government vessels through the canal, clarifying that "free is not an option as presented."
The ports, operated by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison since 1997, were sold to the consortium in March. The move has reportedly drawn criticism from Beijing.
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