TADASHI Yanai, CEO of Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing, said in a recent BBC interview that the company was not using cotton from China's Xinjiang region. His remarks then triggered a backlash against the brand among some Chinese consumers and reignited discussions about the challenges multinational corporations, or MNCs, face amid global geopolitical tensions.
While Yanai has also criticized initiatives like "decoupling from China" and acknowledges the importance of Chinese manufacturing, his ambiguous position on Xinjiang cotton highlights the challenges corporations face in a polarized global landscape. This incident goes beyond the specific challenges faced by Uniqlo and underscores the broader challenges encountered by MNCs whose businesses straddle China, a vital manufacturing base and market, and the United States-led Western alliance, which is currently focused on counterbalancing Chinese growth.
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