Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reminded reporters at yesterday’s press briefing that not only is cotton-picking labor highly paid in the province of Xinjiang, some 70% of all cotton in Xinjiang was harvested by machinery in 2020, and only around 30% by hand, to then said: “Yet, a handful of countries and individuals are still weaving stories about `forced labor.’ Do they mean `forced machinery labor’?”
In recent days, Chinese media have released videos of large, modern cotton-picking machines, five to six abreast, slowly moving down long rows of cotton in Xinjiang. Some stories note that there is still a difference within the province, with cotton-picking in its northern regions being 95% mechanized, and the south, at around 40-45% mechanized, still having some catching up to do. As the Global Times pointed out today, this makes Xinjiang one of the most advanced cotton-producing regions in the world.
