China, Walmart square off over alleged discontinued items made in Uyghur forced labor region

The Chinese government this week slammed Walmart for reportedly de-stocking several items made in the region of China known for the mass detention and forced labor of hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities.

Walmart recently reportedly pulled items from its Sam’s Club chain that had been manufactured in the Xinjiang region of China. In late December the Biden administration banned the importation of manufactured goods from that region due to the Chinese government’s widely reported population-scale human rights abuses of Uyghur minorities there. 

The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website this week that Walmart’s removal of the products “without a valid reason” suggests “an ulterior motive, reveals stupidity and short-sightedness, and will surely have its own bad consequences.”

The CCDI also appeared to threaten Walmart’s commerce in that country, claiming that the retailer should back down if it wishes to “stand firm in the Chinese market."