NATION CHALLENGES WEST'S HUMAN RIGHTS CLAIMS ON XINJIANG

Growth protected, international justice championed

China's pushback over attacks on human rights in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region by the United States and its Western allies targets not only plans to coerce China, but also champions international justice and defends the interests of developing countries, according to officials and scholars familiar with the issues.

Behind the Xinjiang-related anti-China narratives is an attempt to contain China's growth by stoking ideological confrontation, a trap that China should not fall prey to, they warned.

Accusations linking cotton made in Xinjiang to claims of "forced labor" mark the latest episode in a long-standing defamation campaign by Western countries in recent years, the experts said.