Shein accused of using cotton from Xinjiang

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Are garments from fast-fashion app SHEIN made from Xinjiang cotton that was produced with forced Uygur labor, and therefore non-compliant with U.S. sanctions? Bloomberg says that laboratory testing conducted on its behalf “on two occasions this year found that garments shipped to the U.S. by SHEIN were made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region.”

• SHEIN is reported to have sold $16 billion worth of goods in the first half of 2022.

APEC concluded in Bangkok last week: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit

ended a fortnight of intense global diplomacy that included the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, and the G20 jamboree in Indonesia. Highlights:

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to Xi Jinping about cooperation, but also noted “New Zealand’s concerns regarding Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and, in more recent times, the Taiwan Strait.”
• APEC is one of the few international groups from which China has not managed to exclude Taiwan, and its representative there was Morris Chang (張忠謀 Zhāng Zhōngmóu), the founder of Taiwan chip giant TSMC, who actually talked to Xi Jinping, “in what he called a pleasant encounter.”
• The U.S. and China are still talking: Vice President Kamala Harris also met briefly with Xi.
• Hong Kong chief executive John Lee (李家超 Lǐ Jiāchāo) tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from APEC, where he met with Xi Jinping, among others.

Elon Musk is not very hard core, according to Chinese internet users who say that the demanding work schedule he has proposed for Twitter employees is a “soft version” of China’s 996 work culture.

Working for the government pays better: According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, the average annual salary of urban workers at state-owned companies for the first time exceeded 100,000 yuan ($14,043), an increase of 9.7% from 2020. But although it increased year-on-year by 8.9%, the average salary paid by private companies was only 62,884 yuan ($8,830). See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• The founder of a high-end dentist chain is under investigation.
• Construction starts on an enormous underground iron ore mine.
• JD Health soars.

Want more business and technology news from The China Project in your inbox? Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter that goes out at the end of every business day in China (coffee time in New York).