Berlin (AFP) – German chemicals giant BASF said Tuesday it had exited two joint ventures in China’s Xinjiang region after its local partner was alleged to have participated in rights abuses against the local Uyghur minority. BASF stated that it had completed the sale of its shares in Markor Chemical Manufacturing and Markor Meiou Chemical to the Singaporean group Verde Chemical. The German group provided no financial details of the transaction, which was finalized on Monday “following approval by the relevant authorities”.
BASF had announced in February 2024 that it would accelerate its divestment from the joint ventures that manufacture the industrial chemical butanediol. Plans to sell the shares had already been revealed by BASF in 2023 in response to commercial and environmental concerns. German public broadcaster ZDF and news magazine Der Spiegel reported that staff from BASF’s partner firm Markor were involved in rights abuses against members of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority. Employees were alleged to have spied on Uyghur families and filed reports with Chinese authorities.
BASF stated that at the time, it had no indication that employees of the joint ventures were involved in rights violations, asserting that only staff of its local partner were implicated. Rights groups have long accused Beijing of a widespread crackdown on minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labor and detention camps. Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists that its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Xinjiang plants, BASF has been ramping up its presence in China while production costs in Europe are high. The German group is currently in the process of building a new 10-billion-euro ($11.5-billion) chemical complex in the southern province of Guangdong.
© 2024 AFP
