An investigation by China of an American clothing retailer has escalated concerns among foreign companies about their dependence on Chinese supply chains and the future of their operations in the country.

中国对一家美国服装零售商的调查使外国公司对其对中国供应链的依赖，以及在华业务前景感到更加担忧。

China’s Ministry of Commerce said last week that it was investigating PVH, the corporate parent of the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, for allegedly taking “discriminatory measures” against products from Xinjiang, a region in China’s far west that produces a fifth of the world’s cotton.

中国商务部上周表示，正在对拥有Calvin Klein和Tommy Hilfiger品牌的美国零售商PVH集团是否对来自新疆的产品采取了“歧视性措施”展开调查。新疆位于中国西部，那里生产的棉花占全球产量的五分之一。

At issue is whether PVH violated Chinese law by pulling back from purchasing cotton or garments from Xinjiang, where researchers have cited evidence of forced labor, mass arrests and confinement to re-education camps among the region’s predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, particularly the Uyghurs.

调查的焦点是PVH不再从新疆购买棉花或服装的做法是否违反了中国法律，研究人员已给出了该地区以穆斯林为主的少数民族，尤其是维吾尔族当中存在强迫劳动、大规模拘禁和被关进再教育营的证据。

The investigation has made clear that China will not tolerate companies that shun Xinjiang. That puts some multinationals in a legal vise grip because a growing number of governments, including the United States and the European Union, restrict or ban imports from Xinjiang.

该调查清楚地表明，中国政府不会容忍那些避开新疆的公司。这使一些跨国公司陷入法律困境，因为包括美国和欧盟国家在内的越来越多的外国政府限制或禁止从新疆进口产品。

The case is the first time Beijing has wielded a rule it put in place four years ago, known as the Unreliable Entity List, against a company for complying with another country’s prohibition on goods from Xinjiang.

这项调查是中国政府第一次运用其四年前制定的“不可靠实体清单”规则，该清单针对的是遵守他国禁止新疆产品法令的公司。

“Since this investigation is the first of its kind, companies in all sectors have been forced to reassess what it means for them,” said Sean Stein, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. “Many are seeing higher risk,” he added.

“因为是首次的这类调查，各行各业的公司都已被迫重新评估这项调查对它们意味着什么，”中国美国商会主席谭森(Sean Stein)说。“许多人正在看到更高的风险，”他补充道。

For companies, the PVH investigation adds to the public relations problems that doing business in Xinjiang can bring — inside and outside China.

对企业来说，中国对PVH的调查增加了它们在新疆开展业务可能带来的公关问题——无论是在中国国内还是国外。

In 2021, H&M, Nike and other brands faced a damaging backlash from consumers in China after the companies said they would break ties with Xinjiang. This spring, several global automakers became the focus of a congressional investigation for buying parts from a supplier flagged by the U.S. government for participating in forced labor programs tied to the region.

2021年，H&M、耐克和其他外国品牌宣布将切断与新疆的关系后遭到了来自中国消费者的激烈抵制。今年春天，几家全球汽车制造商成了美国国会调查的焦点，因为它们从一家被美国政府标记为与新疆的强迫劳动项目有关的供应商那里采购了零部件。

Many international companies are heavily dependent on Chinese suppliers. From cars to solar panels, China is the world’s largest manufacturer by far. More than 90 percent of China’s cotton is produced in Xinjiang.

许多跨国公司严重依赖中国供应商。从汽车到太阳能组件，中国是迄今为止全球最大的制造国。中国的棉花90%以上产自新疆。

“European companies find themselves increasingly caught between a rock and a hard place,” the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement. “If they cease operations in, or sourcing from, regions like Xinjiang they may face a severe backlash from both government and consumers in China,” the chamber continued. “If they stay, they risk negative consequences from their home and other international markets.”

“欧洲的企业发现它们正越来越多地处于一种两难境地，”中国欧盟商会在一份声明中写道。“如果它们停止在新疆等地区的运营或采购，它们可能面临来自中国政府和消费者的强烈反对，”声明继续写道。“如果它们不停止那样做的话，就有可能给它们在国内和其他国际市场带来负面后果。”

H&M是在宣布停止采购新疆产品后遭到中国消费者强烈抵制的外国品牌之一。

Western companies have already grown warier of China because of geopolitical issues. Larry Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset management companies, said at a conference on Tuesday that global companies needed to re-evaluate investments in China because it is the biggest economic supporter of Russia, which is waging war on Ukraine.

由于地缘政治问题，西方公司已对在中国做生意变得更加谨慎。全球最大的资产管理公司之一贝莱德的首席执行官拉里·芬克在上周二的一次会议上说，在全球开展业务的公司需要重新评估在华投资，因为中国是正在对乌克兰发动战争的俄罗斯在经济上的最大支持者。

The PVH investigation could provide another reason for companies to shift away from China, according to advisers for global companies.

据全球企业的顾问称，对PVH展开调查可能会提供又一个让公司从中国撤出的理由。

“It is a serious and growing concern for many multinational corporations and may aggravate the incentive to decouple,” said Lester Ross, the partner in charge of the Beijing office of Wilmer Hale, a law firm.

“对许多跨国公司来说，这是一个严重的、不断增长的担忧，也许会进一步激励它们与中国脱钩，”美国威凯平和而德律师事务所负责北京办事处的合伙人莱斯特·罗斯说。

Companies in joint ventures with Chinese firms in Xinjiang are particularly stuck. Such arrangements are hard to change without official approval. The Chinese government, typically quick to push back against criticism, has made clear it wants foreign companies to stay in Xinjiang, a poor region that it wants to develop.

与中国公司在新疆有合资业务的外国公司尤其左右为难。合资关系未经官方批准很难改变。中国政府通常会迅速对批评的声音进行反击，并明确表示希望外企留在新疆，那是它想要开发的贫困地区。

BASF, the German chemical giant, started trying to sell its stakes in both of its Xinjiang manufacturing joint ventures to its state-owned partner in late 2023. Last week, BASF said the sales had not been completed and were “subject to negotiations and required approvals of the relevant authorities.”

德国化工巨头巴斯夫已在2023年底开始试图将其在新疆的两家合资制造企业的股份出售给属于中国国有企业的合作伙伴。巴斯夫上周表示，出售尚未完成，“有待进一步的谈判，并需要得到相关部门的批准”。

Volkswagen, the German automaker, said in February that it was examining “the future direction” of its small joint venture in Xinjiang, where the staff and scale of operations had already shrunk considerably. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by saying companies should “cherish the opportunity to invest and develop in Xinjiang.”

德国汽车制造商大众汽车曾在今年2月表示，正在研究位于新疆的一家小型合资企业的“未来方向”，这家合资企业的员工人数和业务规模已大幅缩减。中国外交部回应称，企业应该“珍惜在新疆投资发展的机会”。

VW has yet to announce any changes.

大众汽车尚未宣布任何变化。

PVH was given 30 days to respond to the government’s claims. If PVH is found to have violated China’s laws, penalties could include fines and travel limits on PVH employees, or even a halt to the company’s exports from China, the ministry said.

中国政府给了PVH集团30天时间来回应指控。商业部称，如果发现PVH违反了中国法律，对其的处罚可能包括罚款和员工旅行限制，甚至暂停该集团从中国的出口。

In recent years, human rights groups and corporate responsibility organizations have pushed retailers, in particular, to avoid purchases from Xinjiang.

近年来，人权团体以及向企业追责的组织一直在敦促跨国零售商避免从新疆采购产品。

In July 2020, PVH said that within 12 months, it would stop buying garments, fabric and cotton from Xinjiang. The company responded last week to the Ministry of Commerce announcement by saying, “As a matter of company policy, PVH maintains strict compliance with all relevant laws and regulations in all countries and regions in which we operate.”

PVH集团曾在2020年7月表示，将在未来12个月内停止从新疆购买服装、面料和棉花。公司9月底回应中国商务部的公告时说：“PVH严格遵守我们经营所在的所有国家和地区的所有相关法律法规，这是公司一贯的政策。”

PVH said this week that it had no further comment.

PVH本周表示，没有可提供的进一步评论。

中国90%的棉花产自新疆。

The Ministry of Commerce has not explained the timing of its decision to begin investigating PVH, which came against a backdrop of persistent trade frictions between the United States and China.

中国商务部没有解释为什么在这个时候开始对PVH展开调查，调查的决定是在中美持续不断的贸易摩擦背景下做出的。

In the United States, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act bans all imports from Xinjiang unless the importer can prove that the goods are not tainted by forced labor. The United States also has a separate ban on any imports that contain even traces of Xinjiang cotton or tomatoes, two crops grown mainly on state-owned farms that researchers have linked to human rights abuses.

美国的《维吾尔族强迫劳动预防法》禁止从新疆进口所有产品，除非进口商能够证明产品不存在强迫劳动问题。美国还对任何含有微量新疆棉或西红柿的产品实施了单独的禁令，这两种作物主要在新疆的国有农场种植，研究人员认为这些农场存在侵犯人权的行为。

Companies in the European Union and Canada must comply with a patchwork of national regulations that ban the import of goods made by forced labor.

欧盟国家和加拿大的公司必须遵守本国有关禁止进口使用强迫劳动制造的商品的各种法规。

China has banned independent investigations of labor conditions in Xinjiang and has cracked down broadly on due diligence firms, making it almost impossible for companies to prove how their goods were produced.

中国已禁止对新疆的劳动条件展开独立调查，并已基本上压制了从事尽职调查的公司，这让外国企业几乎不可能证明其商品是如何生产的。

Nury Turkel, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a think tank, said repression and forced labor involving minorities were continuing, both within Xinjiang and around China.

智库哈德逊研究所的律师兼高级研究员努里·特克尔表示，对少数民族的镇压和强迫劳动仍在继续，无论是在新疆还是在中国其他地方。

China has stopped publishing the number of people sent to re-education camps. Those detainees have not been released but instead transferred to prisons, fields or factories, he said.

中国已停止公布被送往再教育营的人数。他说，政府没有释放被拘禁的人，而是将他们转移到了监狱、田地或工厂。

Mr. Turkel said the United States needed to work with more countries to ban Xinjiang products, and toughen penalties for companies that violate bans.

特克尔说，美国需要在禁止新疆产品、加大力度惩罚违反禁令的公司方面与更多的国家合作。

The U.S. Commerce Department declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

美国商务部拒绝置评。白宫没有回复记者的置评请求。

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the Chinese government was “trying to harass and intimidate” American companies that were complying with U.S. law.

在美国参议院财政委员会担任民主党人主席的俄勒冈州参议员罗恩·怀登表示，中国政府正在“试图骚扰和恐吓”遵守美国法律的美国公司。

“The United States must not let this bogus investigation stop our country from cracking down on China’s ongoing human rights abuses,” he said.

“美国绝不能让这个假调查阻止我国打击中国持续侵犯人权的行为，”他说。

The Chinese government denies that human rights abuses have taken place. The government also portrays programs to send rural Xinjiang residents to jobs in distant factories as an effort to alleviate poverty, not forced labor.

中国政府否认国内存在侵犯人权问题。中国政府还把将新疆农村居民送到远离家乡的工厂工作的项目描述为脱贫努力，而不是强迫劳动。

Steve Vickers, a former senior Hong Kong police officer who runs a corporate security consulting firm there, said companies “are now caught in the middle of what is truly a messy dilemma.”

曾任香港警务处刑事情报科主管的韦启贤(Steve Vickers)现在香港经营一家企业安全咨询公司，他说，企业“现在陷入了一个真的难以处理的困境”。