Foreign corporations are being pressed to take stances on Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, and other politically hot matters as a result of the appeals. The Chinese Communist Party has attacked apparel and other firms that show concern about accusations of forced labour and other abuses in Xinjiang by pressuring them to embrace its policies in their advertising and on their websites. "Let's start Xinjiang's all-electric trip!" Tesla stated on its Chinese social media account on Friday, announcing the opening of its showroom in Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving relations between the United States called on Tesla and its leader, Elon Musk, to shut down the showroom and "stop what amounts to economic support for genocide" on Monday. In a statement, the group's communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, stated, "No American organization should be doing business in a territory that is the main center of a genocidal effort targeting a religious and ethnic minority." Foreign hotel, airline, and other corporations have been pressured by the Communist Party to embrace its viewpoints on Taiwan's status, the island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory, and other problems in their advertising and on their websites. According to activists and international governments, a million Uyghurs and members of other primarily Muslim minorities have been detained in Xinjiang detention centres. Chinese officials deny allegations of human rights violations, claiming that the camps are used for job training and to combat extremism.
After the state press criticized the company and online comments urged for a boycott of its goods, Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of computer chips, apologized in December for instructing suppliers to avoid sourcing goods from Xinjiang. Imports of items from Xinjiang are prohibited unless they can be proven to be free of forced labor. One of Tesla's most important markets is China. The company's first factory outside the United States opened in Shanghai in 2019. Other foreign auto brands including Volkswagen, General Motors and Nissan Motor Co. have showrooms in Xinjiang operated by the automakers' Chinese joint-venture partners. VW also operates a factory in Urumqi.