People shop at Sam’s Club flagship store at Waigaoqiao New Development on September 26, 2021 in Shanghai, China.
Fan Jianlei | Visual China Corporation | beautiful pictures
China’s anti-money-matching agency on Friday charged the US retail giant Walmart and Sam’s Club chain “stupid and short-sighted” after Chinese news outlets reported Sam’s Club had removed products originating from Xinjiang from its stores.
Last week, Sam’s Club came under fire in China after several news outlets shared videos and screenshots on social media platform Weibo that they claimed were products from the Xinjiang region in western China. removed from the store’s online app.
The controversy on social media erupted after US President Joe Biden signed a law banning the import of goods from Xinjiang on December 23 due to concerns about forced labor there.
Walmart is the latest foreign company to come under Western pressure over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and China’s importance as a market. and supplier base.
China denies forced labor or any other ill-treatment in Xinjiang.
Neither Walmart nor Sam’s Club have made a public statement about the backlash against them in China, and Walmart did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The ruling Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) accused Sam’s Club of boycotting Xinjiang products and trying to “defuse” the controversy by keeping it quiet.
“Knockdown of all products from a region without good reason harbors ulterior motives, reveals stupidity and short-sightedness, and is bound to have bad consequences on its own,” it said. know on its website.
China is a huge market for Walmart, which generated $11.43 billion in sales in the country in the financial year ended January 31. Of the 423 Walmart retailers operating in the country. China, 36 is a Sam’s Club store, according to its website.
According to a Reuters review on Wednesday, a search for popular Xinjiang items like raisins on the Sam’s Club China store app did not bring up any relevant results, but neither did a search for the products. from other places, such as Fujian tea.
Out of stock?
Chinese media outlets have quoted a Sam’s Club customer service representative as explaining that the products were not discarded but out of stock.
The CCDI on Friday called it a “self-deception excuse” and said the chain should respect China’s position on Xinjiang if it wanted to “stand firmly in the Chinese market”.
It is not uncommon for a foreign brand to be targeted by Chinese social media users or official stores, and the impact can be damaging.
Earlier this week, the Weibo hashtag “Sam’s Club cancels the card” went viral with more than 470 million hits. On Friday, the state-run China Daily reported that domestic rivals had organized campaigns promoting goods from Xinjiang.
In July, Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported a 23% drop in local currency sales in China in the March-May quarter after being boycotted by consumers in March for its public statement. that they do not supply products from Xinjiang.
This month, the American chip maker Intel Facing similar calls after asking its suppliers not to supply products or labor from Xinjiang, prompting them to apologize for “trouble caused to customers, partners and our respected Chinese public.”
On Friday, the CCDI accused H&M, Intel and Sam’s Club of collaborating with “anti-China Western forces” to destabilize Xinjiang by suppressing and boycotting products from the region.
“These Western companies, which boast of being free from political interference, have slapped themselves in the face with their own actions.”
