The Chinese public has announced a boycott of H&M and Nike, urging not to buy their products. This reaction was provoked by long-standing comments from these companies about the likely use of Uighur forced labor in the cotton harvest in Xinjiang.

H&M and Nike are at the center of a scandal in China. The Chinese public, television, trading platforms and even celebrities are up in arms against them: everyone is calling for them to refuse to buy the products of these manufacturers. Behind this are the statements of H&M and Nike that they will not use cotton and yarn from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) for the production of their products.

Few days ago, the European Union, and a little earlier the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada imposed sanctions on the PRC on the basis that it "pursues a repressive policy against Muslims living in the XUAR, in particular against the Uighurs." This, according to foreign media and experts, is the main reason for the current boycott of the two companies.

Representatives of the Chinese Youth Communist Union posted screenshots of H&M and Nike statements on the organization's Weibo blog, commenting, “Spreading rumors to boycott Xinjiang cotton but want to make money in China? You must be dreaming! " China Central Television (CCTV) announced that the letters H and M in the name of H&M in Chinese correspond to words denoting falsehood and falsification, and added that “for such companies we have a clear answer: do not buy their products!” According to CCTV, H&M "miscalculated" in trying to be a "righteous hero" and now "must pay a heavy price for their wrong actions."

The boycott has been joined by some of the country's most popular marketplaces, including TMall, where H&M's official store is reportedly blocked. Searching for products from both manufacturers does not return any results on JD.com, Taobao, and Pinduoduo. Several Chinese celebrities who have been “ambassadors” of these brands have announced that they have ended their relationship with companies that “spread rumors about China and human rights,” and stressed that “the interests of their home country are of the utmost importance to them.” The Global Times (owned by the People's Daily of the Communist Party of China) noted that Chinese citizens "have the right to expose and present offensive statements by Western companies to the public" about cases in the XUAR and "express their anger." At the same time, the publication recalled that Adidas, New Balance, Burberry and Zara used to make "caustic remarks" about Xinjiang cotton.

In just 24 hours, H&M was virtually erased from China's digital world; you cannot buy his tops and dresses from the largest online retail platforms, you cannot get a taxi to take you to one of his stores in the largest taxi calling app. Physical stores still exist and are open - almost all of them, but closures can follow soon also.

The public responded to the appeal of organizations, press, television and celebrities, and publications under the hashtag "I support Xinjiang cotton" entered the top trends on Weibo with almost 2 billion views. Users began posting videos on social networks showing how they burn the company's products.

H&M China responded by posting on Weibo, in which it noted that it “respects Chinese consumers as always” and does not announce any political position. For the Swedish company, the Chinese market is the third largest after Germany and the United States. In 2019, H&M's sales in China, where the company has 520 stores, reached $1.4 billion. For the American manufacturer, the Chinese market is also the third largest after North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Nike has 7,000 stores in China and in fiscal 2020 (ended May 2020) had sales of $ 6.7 billion there.

Nice way to talk to fighters for democracy, as only way they understand is their own walled thinning.