Xinjiang cotton industry
Xinjiang is the leading producer of cotton in China, accounting for about 20% of the world's cotton production and 80% of China's domestic cotton production. Critics of the industry's practices have alleged widespread human rights abuses, prompting global boycotts. China rejects accusations that any human rights abuses occur either within the Xinjiang cotton industry or within China overall. History The cotton industry has a long history in Xinjiang, with cotton having been grown in the region since the 1st millennium AD. Modern era At the turn of the 20th century, Xinjiang was a producer of raw goods, including cotton. Turfan was Xinjiang's biggest producer of cotton, with 60% of its cotton exported to Russia, and around 45% of Kashgar's exports (1.35 million roubles out of 3 million total exports) to Russia in 1902 were of cotton cloth. The Russian Revolution coincided with a decrease in cotton exports from Xinjiang to Russia, significantly harming the cotton industry and the local economy as a whole. Throughout the lattermost portions of the 20th century, the government of China sought to turn Xinjiang into a regional cotton-producing powerhouse. The management of cotton production in the region was heavily reformed in 1975, though this led