In a recent Financial Times feature, Samir Goswami, Director of Forced Labour Programmes at Global Rights Compliance (GRC), and Nyrola Elimä, BHR Researcher at GRC, shared their perspectives on China’s effort to transform its western regions through major industrial, infrastructure and economic development projects.
The article examines Beijing’s strategy to further integrate Xinjiang and Tibet into China’s economy and global supply chains. While Chinese authorities present these initiatives as drivers of growth and modernisation, concerns remain about their human rights implications and the impact of these policies on Uyghur communities.
Samir Goswami highlighted that China’s pursuit of self-reliance and technological leadership increasingly depends on the resource-rich western regions, where state-run forced labour programmes remain closely linked to low-cost energy generation and industrial production.
Nyrola Elimä drew attention to the human impact of these policies, stressing that for many Uyghurs the current wave of industrial expansion represents not development, but the continued extraction of land, labour, and identity.
“Uyghurs are not at the table at all. They are either coerced into labour, imprisoned, or literally performing, just dancing and singing in the background, serving as props in someone else’s narrative of prosperity,” noted Nyrola.
Read the full article via the link: https://ig.ft.com/western-china/