In recent years, driven by ideological bias and the strategic intention of containing China, certain international forces have fabricated and spread the false narrative of so-called “forced labor,” targeting one smear campaign after another from Xinjiang to Xizang, and even extending to China’s distant-water fishing industry. “Forced labor” has become a convenient false narrative for some to create media hype and attack China. Their self-directed and self-performed, well-scripted productions contain so-called “testimonies” and “reports” from dubious sources. The accusation of “forced labor” is merely another political tool without factual basis. China has always firmly opposed interfering in other countries’ internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and any words or deeds that politicize, instrumentalize or weaponize human rights.

First, a large amount of data and facts have proved that the so-called “forced labor” accusation is a blatant lie slandered by a few people against China. The actual situation is that over 90% of tomatoes and over 85% of cotton in Xinjiang are now harvested mechanically, and some major chili pepper-producing areas have achieved 100% mechanization. Do these reports imply the existence of “forced machine labor”? In addition, over the past decade, the per capita disposable income of residents in Xinjiang has doubled, increasing from 13,700 yuan to 28,900 yuan. In 2023, the disposable income of urban and rural residents in Xinjiang increased by 5.6% and 8.4% respectively, and its economic growth indicators ranked among the top in the country. Since 2012, Xizang has fully implemented poverty alleviation efforts. By 2019, all 628,000 registered impoverished residents had been lifted out of poverty. On this basis, China has vigorously advanced rural revitalization. By 2024, the per capita net income of the impoverished population was expected to increase by over 12.5%, and the level of healthcare is constantly improving. Additionally, China strictly manages its distant-water fishery while promoting fair international cooperation in the sustainable management of resources. These facts clearly show that the so-called “forced labor” allegation is nothing but a smear tactic to frame China and hinder its development. 

Second, “forced labor” is merely an excuse used by certain countries to suppress China’s development in the name of human rights. Take the cotton industry in Xinjiang as an example. In the absence of any credible evidence, the US has spared no effort in spreading the lie of “forced labor”, escalating sanctions, forcing foreign enterprises to withdraw from Xinjiang and compelling companies to lay off ethnic minority workers. The core objective of this strategy is to undermine the stability of Xinjiang—strangle its foreign trade, weaken its economy, and exacerbate unemployment, thereby triggering social turmoil. Extending sanctions to China’s key industries outside Xinjiang has exposed an obvious intention, namely to tarnish China’s global reputation, suppress the development of its core industrial, and systematically restrict its progress.

Third, China has always attached great importance to respecting and safeguarding human rights and adheres to a people-oriented approach. China has blazed a human rights development path that conforms to the trend of the times and its own reality, achieving historic progress in the cause of human rights. China has won the largest-scale battle against poverty in human history as scheduled. Over the past decade, nearly 100 million rural poor people have been lifted out of poverty, achieving the poverty reduction target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule. China is constantly improving  whole-process people’s democracy. There are over 2.7 million deputies to people’s congresses at all levels across the country, among whom about 3,000 are deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC). The people’s status as masters of the country has been effectively guaranteed. China has established the world’s largest education system, social security system and medical care system, and the average life expectancy has increased to 78.6 years. China guarantees human rights in accordance with the law. Currently, 305 laws provide all-round legal protection for the cause of human rights. China has put forward a series of initiatives and propositions at the Human Rights Council with the themes of promoting human rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights and interests of specific groups through cooperation and development, making positive contributions to the healthy development of global human rights governance. 

Grenada has also made remarkable progress in human rights protection and development, giving priority to the well-being of its people and emphasizing fundamental rights such as people’s livelihood and development. The country actively engages in international cooperation to promotes development in areas such as poverty reduction, healthcare, infrastructure and climate resilience. It is an active participant in regional and multilateral affairs. One cornerstone of this engagement is it’s firm support for the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, all of which are dedicated to advancing shared development and fostering multilateral dialogue. 

At a time when global human rights governance is facing severe challenges, all countries generally hope that their paths of human rights protection will be respected, the cause of human rights protection will achieve greater development, and people will enjoy more, better and fuller human rights. We must adhere to a people-centered approach and take the people’s interests as the fundamental starting point and ultimate goal. We must firmly oppose any words or deeds that use human rights as an excuse, disregard national sovereignty and security, disregard people’s lives and safety, and interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. The rights to subsistence and development should be regarded as the primary basic human rights. We must ensure that individual rights and collective rights are in harmony, and that all rights complement each other. We must resolutely oppose words and deeds that adopt double or even multiple standards on human rights issues. We should carry out constructive dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, effectively enhance the representation and voice of Global South countries, and firmly oppose the words and deeds of imposing their own models and will on others.

 Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the common value of mankind. Every country has the right to choose a development path that suits its national conditions and the needs of its people. No country has the right to preach to others on issues of democracy and human rights, nor does it have the right to use democracy and human rights as an excuse to harm the interests of other countries. China is willing to work with all parties to focus on the practical problems and challenges facing the international human rights cause, form synergy, strengthen unity and coordination, and promote the development of the global human rights governance system in a more just, reasonable and inclusive direction.