Starbucks has opened its first cafés in China's Xinjiang region, in a high-profile expansion into an area that has attracted international concern over the repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups. Chinese state media reported the opening of two new stores in Ürümqi — one at the airport and another at the city's famous Grand Bazaar — featuring "locally inspired" menus including salty milk tea and Xinjiang elements like ethnic musical instruments.
The investment push comes against a backdrop of a US-led sanctions regime introduced after the state's mass detention of mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the 2010s. Starbucks China CEO Molly Liu said entering Xinjiang allows the company to "engage deeply with this vibrant market and build sincere, lasting connections with our customers there."
International hotel operators have more than 50 properties under construction in the region, expanding from 163 already in operation. Xinjiang registered a 22 per cent year-on-year increase in newly established foreign-funded enterprises last year, while foreign investment was up nearly 10 per cent.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Maya Wang said Starbucks was opening in a region where hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs remained in prison because of their ethnic and religious identity, suggesting authorities sought to "cover up" human rights abuses by presenting "a veneer of normalcy."
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing