US congressman demands Starbucks close its first stores in China’s Xinjiang

Oct 2 (Reuters) – A US lawmaker has called on Starbucks to close its first stores in China’s Xinjiang, calling it a “morally bankrupt decision” to do business in a region ​where Uyghurs face repression.

China denies widespread accusations about abuses ‌of the Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim people, saying its policies there were aimed at combating terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

Starbucks opened its first two stores this week in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, including one at the city centre’s grand ‌bazaar ​and a second at its international airport.

John ⁠Moolenaar, chairman of the ⁠Select Committee on China of the House of Representatives, called on Starbucks to “immediately reverse course and close its stores.”

“This is a shocking and morally bankrupt decision by a company that prides ​itself on social responsibility,” he said in a statement published on Thursday.

“There is no justifiable reason for an American company to ⁠do business in a region where ⁠the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has detained more than a ​million Uyghurs and is stripping them of their faith, language, and ​culture.”

Neither Starbucks nor China’s Foreign Ministry immediately responded to requests ‌for comment. China is in the middle of its week-long national day holiday.

Starbucks said on its official WeChat platform this week that they were not just new coffee outlets in Xinjiang but ⁠a new experience that blended local culture and customer needs.

The company would continue investing in Xinjiang, its China Chief Executive Officer Liu Wenjuan said ⁠in the WeChat ‌post.

Pictures of the stores posted on the platform ⁠showed Starbucks’ logo in English and Chinese. There ​were no ‌obvious images of any Uyghur-language signs. Uyghur is ​written in ⁠an Arabic-based script and is meant to enjoy official parity in Xinjiang.

In April 2026 Starbucks finalised its China joint venture by bringing in a strategic investor, Boyu Capital, as its 60% stakeholder. The joint venture operates about 8,000 outlets in China.

(Reporting by China newsroom; Editing ​by Stephen Coates)