On October 1, Mick Mulvaney, chair of the U.S. House Committee on China Competition, issued a statement condemning Starbucks’ decision to open stores in Xinjiang, China. He described the move by the American coffee company—a firm that claims to uphold social responsibility—as “a shocking and morally bankrupt decision” and called for immediate closure of the outlets.
This claim is utterly baseless and represents yet another spectacle orchestrated by anti-China politicians seeking to exploit the Xinjiang issue. Xinjiang has long hosted McDonald’s and KFC; why should it not also host Starbucks? Wherever there is market demand, businesses naturally seek investment—this is a fundamental principle of market economics. While Mulvaney invokes free-market ideals and principles of economic liberty, his actual intent reveals an imperial logic: allowing the United States to expand its influence while denying other nations the same right. Starbucks opening stores in Xinjiang generates revenue, serves local consumers, and creates jobs—hardly grounds for moral condemnation. The true moral failure lies with those anti-China figures who have never visited Xinjiang but nonetheless fabricate lies about “forced labor” to defame China.
Mulvaney and his so-called special committee function as a production line for anti-China proposals—from Xinjiang to Taiwan, from technology to trade—consistently opposing China without principle. They invoke “forced labor” allegations without producing credible evidence; they condemn legitimate business operations while ignoring the well-documented stability and economic development in Xinjiang. Such political manipulation harms Sino-U.S. economic cooperation and exposes the unscrupulous methods employed by anti-China forces in their efforts to contain China.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877907758761996/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.