LIVE: A Xinjiang Solar Giant Breaks Ranks to Try and Woo the West | Top News
Published Date: 5/17/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
(May 17) At the Daqo New Energy Corp. factory in China’s Xinjiang region, workers carefully processed tall columns of refined silicon last week as a group of reporters and analysts looked on. It’s the first time outsiders were allowed to witness the mundane factory scene since China’s dominant solar industry has come under scrutiny for its labor practices. Unlike three other companies in Xinjiang that produce polysilicon—a key ingredient in solar panels—Daqo hasn’t been linked to alleged human-rights abuses. Yet Daqo has upheld the same secrecy as its peers with ties to the government-run labor program that's under international scrutiny. As recently as March, the company declined interview requests for its executives and turned away foreign observers. Now the company’s leadership is breaking ranks in an attempt to shield itself from potential U.S. sanctions over China's treatment of the Uyghur minority group in Xinjiang. Daqo’s chief financial officer, Ming Yang, acknowledges there's a “good probability” that Xinjiang-made polysilicon will be banned by President Joe Biden. As the only U.S.-listed polysilicon company based in Xinjiang, Daqo can’t just ignore concerns from overseas investors and regulators, he said in an interview. “We understand there are these perception risks, especially from the public and media, and some investors,” Yang said. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said officials “believe in some cases” that Chinese solar products are being produced by forced labor and confirmed the administration is mulling restrictions. Daqo’s best bet is to try and win an exemption. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. this month managed to get itself removed from a U.S. blacklist of military-linked companies, suggesting there’s a way for individual companies to avoid penalties even as tensions rise between the world’s two biggest economies. Concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang stem from a state-run labor program that some Western governments and academics have argued is used to compel mainly Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities to work against their will. Researchers have highlighted public documents showing three other polysilicon factories—not Daqo’s—accepted workers from the program. China says the initiative helps poor ethnic minorities find better employment and that accusations of forced labor in Xinjiang are lies invented by foreign adversaries. --- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake