The Impact of the US-China Trade War on China's Cotton Industry: A Case Study of the Xinjiang Cotton Controversy

Abstract

The Sino-US trade conflict has been a prominent issue between China and the United States in recent years. Xinjiang cotton, being the primary producing area of China's cotton industry, has had a significant impact on its competitiveness. This paper provides data and case studies on the impact of global cotton standards, China's cotton import and export, and the supply chain to explain the causes and consequences of the Xinjiang cotton incident, as well as propose countermeasures for China's cotton industry. The study found that China's lack of cotton standard measurement methods has led to a certain setback in the cotton industry. Moreover, the incident has affected the upstream and downstream industries to some extent. Nevertheless, it has not had a significantly negative impact on China's supply chain. However, China needs to take immediate and effective measures to establish its cotton standards. Additionally, China must expand the supply and sales channels of the cotton industry and related industries, while actively developing high-tech solutions to minimize negative impacts and losses as much as possible.