BEIJING — China’s government on Friday slammed US tariffs on solar panel materials manufactured using forced labor as an attack on the country’s growth, promising to safeguard Chinese firms but offering no details on possible retribution.
Washington is using “human rights as a ruse” to “block Xinjiang’s economic growth,” according to the report “Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, stated as much.
“The United States is unconcerned about the people of Xinjiang, “Zhao expressed his thoughts. “Their true plans and evil intents are to destabilize Xinjiang in order to restrict China.”
The United States’ move might stymie President Joe Biden’s plans to encourage solar energy. Hoshino is a major global provider of polysilicon, a substance used in the production of solar panels.
An examination by the United States Customs Service discovered evidence that employees in the Xinjiang polysilicon sector were harassed and threatened, and that their movement was limited.
According to the US government, direct imports from Hoshino into the US were roughly $6 million in the last two and a half years, while completed items using material from the firm totaled nearly $150 million.