Since the quality of Xinjiang cotton ranks among the best in the world, the companies that choose not to use it are losing out, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing on Thursday. In addition, she said, accusations of "forced labor" in Xinjiang are fabricated by anti-China forces to contain China's development.

Although China is a key global cotton producer, it actually faces a cotton shortage. The country produced 5.95 million tons of cotton during the 2020-21 season, which ended in January, but the demand stood at about 7.8 million tons, the China Grain Reserves Group said in a statement on Wednesday.

To resolve the shortage, China needs to import about 2 million tons of cotton every year from countries including Brazil and India, it said.