VW CEO Herbert Diess
The VW boss rejects the criticism of the company’s production in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, even though massive human rights violations are being committed there.
(Photo: AP)
Hanover The VW Group has again defended its business in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, despite reports of human rights violations. “We stand by our commitment in China, including in Xinjang,” said CEO Herbert Diess of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. The company’s presence is more likely to improve the situation for people than a move away.
VW is certain that no forced laborers will be deployed there for production. “Neither we nor our suppliers employ forced labor. Here we have zero tolerance. We also uphold our values in Xinjiang, including employee representation, respect for minorities and social and labor standards, ”said Diess.
VW operates a plant in the provincial capital of Ürümqi together with its joint venture partner SAIC. The VW group sells more than 40 percent of its cars in China. The Consortium of Investigative Journalists (CIJ) published Chinese documents in November that show a systematic persecution of the Uyghurs and instructions for the mass internment of the Muslim minority.
The CEO generally justifies doing business in autocratic states: According to the “Economist”, only 5.7 percent of the world’s population lived in a democracy “as we know it,” said Diess: “If we were only active in these countries, we would have and also all other global companies do not exist. ”
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A “social charter” at VW is intended to ensure that binding internal rules comply with human rights in the Group’s global plant network and in all business contacts with suppliers. A response from the state government of Lower Saxony to a request from the Greens, which became known in January, revealed that the group had no evidence of human rights violations. Around one in four of the 650 employees belong to minorities – that corresponds to the proportion of minorities in the city of Ürümqi. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann (CDU) sit on the VW supervisory board for Lower Saxony.
Diess criticized the sanctions policy against Russia. “We have 6,000 employees in Russia, plus suppliers and customers. We have a market there, so we’re happy when Russia is doing well, so sanctions are harmful. Diplomacy and negotiations are always better than trade restrictions that harm us and the people of Russia. ”
More: EU Parliament plans import ban in the event of human rights violations