Xinjiang has become a significant point of conflict between
Western governments and China in recent years, as UN experts and rights groups
estimate more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and members of other Muslim
minorities, have been detained in camps there.
China has rejected accusations of forced labour or any other
abuses there, saying that the camps provide vocational training and that
companies should respect its policies there.
The US electric car maker announced the showroom's opening
in Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi, on its official Weibo account last
Friday. "On the last day of 2021 we meet in Xinjiang," it said in the
post.
On Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the
largest US Muslim advocacy organisation, criticised the move, saying that Tesla
was "supporting genocide".
The United States has labelled China's treatment of ethnic
Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang as genocide. The United States and a few
other countries plan a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in
February over the issue.
"Elon Musk must close Tesla's Xinjiang showroom,"
Council on American-Islamic Relations said on its official Twitter account,
referring to Tesla's founder.
Similar criticism came from a US trade group, the Alliance
for American Manufacturing, and US senator Marco Rubio.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The carmaker operates a factory in Shanghai and is ramping up production there
amid surging sales in China.
A slew of foreign firms in recent months have been tripped
up by tensions between the West and China over Xinjiang, as they try to balance
Western pressure with China's importance as a market and supply base.
In July, Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported a 23
percent drop in local currency sales in China for its March-May quarter after
it was hit by a consumer boycott in March for stating publicly that it did not
source products from Xinjiang.
Last month, US chipmaker Intel faced similar calls after
telling its suppliers not to source products or labour from Xinjiang, prompting
it to apologise for "the trouble caused to our respected Chinese
customers, partners and the public".
Although some have been trying to reduce their supply chain
exposure to the region, especially as Washington bans imports such as Xinjiang
cotton or blacklists Chinese companies that it says have aided Beijing's policy
there, many foreign brands operate stores there. © Reuters
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