Dr. Uwe Behrens

Author: Dr. Uwe Behrens is a transport economist and author with extensive expertise in China. Having lived and worked in the country for 27 years, he gained in-depth knowledge of its logistics sector and socio-economic developments. Through his books and lectures, he critically analyzes Western perceptions of China and explores the global impact of initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative.

"News from Xinjiang"

Shortly before the China visit of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, articles on alleged human rights violations in the Chinese province of Xinjiang appeared simultaneously across German-speaking countries. These reports, clearly originating from the same source, were widely circulated. Other conflicts had temporarily shifted the focus of German-speaking "quality media" away from China's "misconduct"—an interruption that could not last. To secure public support in Western countries for the ongoing U.S. trade war against China and the impending one from the EU, the ideological component must be reinforced—escalating the hybrid warfare.

What Happened?

In the autonomous province of Xinjiang, the Communist Party changed Uyghur street and place names with religious or Islamist connotations, replacing them with names such as "Harmony," "Happiness," or "Unity," referencing Chinese culture. In its article, the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" (NZZ) refers to this as apartheid. The renaming of streets and places is, after all, not unusual, particularly for Germans, who saw many street names with references to the struggles of the German working class altered after the integration of East Germany into the Federal Republic.

History and Traditions

To understand the recent events in Xinjiang, it is necessary to look at history. This region, bordering Central Asian countries and Mongolia, became an integral part of the Chinese Empire during the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century. Following the 1911 revolution, the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, and the subsequent years of fragmentation due to domestic warlord conflicts, foreign intervention, and the ongoing civil war that lasted until 1949, separatist ethnic groups, including the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, attempted to establish independent states. However, these efforts were short-lived and never gained international recognition. The region's geography—comprising grasslands, deserts, and mountains—allowed only limited agricultural development. Consequently, its wealth and education levels were historically far below those of other parts of China, particularly the industrialized provinces in the eastern coastal areas. With the founding of the People’s Republic, a new era began, aiming to include the underdeveloped, often medievally-living, multiethnic population in the construction of the new China.

Development Efforts

To bridge these disparities in wealth and also to harness local natural resources, the People's Republic heavily invested in developing a productive agricultural base, a new resource industry, and infrastructure. This development entailed significant migration of non-Uyghurs, especially Han Chinese, to the area. Following the end of the civil war and the Korean War, numerous demobilized soldiers were settled in Xinjiang to exploit the mineral-rich deserts, mountains, and sparsely used grasslands. Large-scale irrigation systems were constructed to support future cotton production, which the U.S. now sanctions. The connection to China’s railway and road network laid the foundation for industrialization.

Conflicts and Terrorist Violence

As more Chinese citizens—particularly industrial workers, engineers, and farmers from across the country—migrated to Xinjiang, sporadic tensions arose with the semi-nomadic local population. Violent conflicts occasionally erupted, exacerbated by the military conflicts in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Uyghurs in the Afghan Wakhan Corridor near China’s border were trained alongside the Taliban for religious combat. Later, some Uyghur groups established connections with terrorist organizations in other countries. The Islamist group IS recruited radicalized Uyghurs for operations both within and outside of China. Between 2000 and 2010, Xinjiang and other parts of the People's Republic witnessed repeated terrorist attacks, with hundreds of civilian and security personnel casualties. Numerous attacks, both large and small, on local government offices, state agencies, schools, and healthcare facilities unsettled the region. Only the larger attacks caught the attention of national and some international media:

- 2010: Aksu bombing, seven killed and many injured.

- 2011: Hotan attack, 18 killed.

- 2012: Yecheng attack, 20 killed.

- 2013: Bachu and Shanshan attacks, 56 killed.

- 2014: Kunming railway knife attack, 31 killed and 144 injured, along with a car attack in Beijing with additional fatalities.

These fatal incidents were confirmed by international media, with the "Washington Post" reporting on May 22, 2014, and the BBC on September 26 of the same year, covering the attacks in Xinjiang. 

Countermeasures

The rise in terrorist attacks prompted the Chinese government in 2014 to declare a state of emergency and implement drastic security measures. Several terrorist groups across Xinjiang were uncovered. Over 30,000 terrorists and suspected terrorist individuals were arrested, and thousands of small arms of various types and explosive devices were confiscated. In addition to the anti-terrorism efforts initiated after 2014, the Communist Party, in coordination with state institutions, launched a comprehensive program aimed at eradicating extreme poverty. The province was fully connected through a network of railways, roads, and highways. Modern high-speed trains now reach Ürümqi and will soon extend to Kashgar. Telecommunications infrastructure operates on 4G and 5G networks, providing continuous coverage even in deserts and mountainous areas, along with reliable internet access. Partnership agreements were established between cities in Xinjiang and wealthier provinces in the east, facilitating the deployment of experienced managers and cadres to Xinjiang. Their role was to develop and implement various development projects, a model also successfully applied in other provinces like Guizhou and Sichuan and recognized internationally. In recent years, about three million Uyghurs—representing one-third of the entire population—living in approximately 3,670 villages were lifted out of poverty, including through the resettlement of 170,000 people into newly established villages and small towns with modern social infrastructure.

Economic Modernization

The development projects include establishing digitally supported small-scale industries in villages as well as building modern production facilities for the textile, automotive, and electronics sectors. The required workforce is recruited from the local population, necessitating intensive training programs. This industrialization effort has also led to the relocation of residents to new industrial centers. One example is the Aksu Industrial Park, developed by Huafu Fashion Co., Ltd. Workers were partly trained at the company’s main facility in Zhejiang Province during the construction of the industrial park and later took over production independently. In line with practices in other East Asian countries, employees demonstrate their affiliation with the company by wearing uniforms, which some have interpreted as indicative of forced labor.

Agriculture has also undergone industrial transformation. U.S. agricultural machinery exporters capitalized on this, delivering harvesting equipment for the cotton industry, marking one of the century's most significant deals. Today, at least 80 percent of cotton harvests are mechanized. This shift has led to a substantial reduction in the need for seasonal laborers: while around 700,000 contracted harvest workers were required from across China in 2008, by 2018, only approximately 100,000 were needed, all sourced exclusively from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

Campaign Against China

Framed within the geopolitical tensions between the United States and its allies and the People’s Republic of China, these powers have leveraged China's anti-terrorism efforts, industrialization drive, and poverty alleviation initiatives as grounds for a campaign alleging human rights violations within China. In doing so, they have increasingly disregarded the underlying reasons for these stringent security measures. Media outlets deliberately blur the two aspects of anti-terrorism—security measures and poverty alleviation—thereby creating a misleading narrative. For example, the training of local workers in vocational centers or at parent companies on the eastern coast is framed as forced labor, with claims that one million Uyghurs are allegedly detained in "re-education camps." Improvements in social conditions, particularly for women and girls through education, medical care, and birth control, are labeled as genocide. Such claims raise questions about the credibility of these accusations and make the underlying intent clear: the destabilization of China with the explicit goal of preventing, or at least slowing, the country’s successful rise. This objective is pursued through unfounded slander and discrimination. For instance, former U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo issued a statement on June 20, 2021, accusing China of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Counter Voices

On September 11, 2023, the *Neue Zürcher Zeitung* (NZZ) published a report about a private trip to Xinjiang undertaken by two senior German Sinologists and the esteemed international law expert Norman Paech. In their report, they describe how life in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, where various minority and religious groups coexist, has normalized. They observe: “Among the Uyghur population, there is evident support for the modernization initiatives introduced by the central government in areas such as education, healthcare, and employment... Additionally, there is targeted, regionally adapted development aid and resource allocation provided by wealthier eastern provinces. This is visible in the presence of modern vocational training centers in each Xinjiang county, where students receive not only free education but also a monthly allowance of 200 yuan to support their families. State-supported establishments in the agricultural and industrial sectors, required by law to employ Uyghurs at nationally recognized minimum wage standards, are aimed at alleviating the region’s employment issues.” These perspectives are absent from German “quality media,” which tend to report the outdated, opposing viewpoint. The Sinologists were severely criticized by established think tanks.

Personal Observations

I have spent 27 years working and living in Asia as a logistics manager for German and French companies, with 17 years in China and eight in India. During this period, I traveled to Xinjiang multiple times and maintained a branch office in Ürümqi. My colleagues and clients included Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Tajiks, and Han Chinese, allowing me to gain an intimate understanding of these cultures. To obtain a firsthand perspective, I decided to use my trip to China planned for October/November last year to visit Xinjiang. Together with my wife, I traveled by rental car along the Karakoram Highway to the Afghan and Pakistani borders, visiting numerous small villages, livestock markets, and the cities of Ürümqi, Kashgar, and Tashkurgan, as well as several tourist centers. Following this brief journey, I can confidently confirm the Sinologists' statements mentioned above. Throughout my travels, I observed no indication of "oppression of a minority"—rather, I witnessed satisfied people, newly built residential areas, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, modern factories, and active logistics companies.

In June 2024, Norman Paech gave an interview to the YouTube channel *WeltTV* titled “Lies and Truth About Xinjiang,” in which he stated that, based on his observations, there were no signs of genocide, past or present. While he acknowledged that human rights violations may have occurred within the framework of anti-terror measures, he noted the success of the development policies in place. He was nearly overwhelmed when he saw the modern cities, which reminded him of Dubai.

By Dr. Uwe Behrens  

July 2024