Now, that's embarrassing

The Chinese company that made shoes for Ivanka Trump's company exports jobs to Ethiopia.

Chinese firm featured in government-backed propaganda film accused of labour rights abuses
Huajian Group, a company that made shoes for Ivanka Trump and stands accused of serious labour violations plays an unexpected role in a blockbuster propaganda film about China’s renaissance under President Xi Jinping.
Huajian factory in Ethiopia

The state-backed documentary Amazing China portrays the Huajian Group as a beneficent force spreading Chinese influence and prosperity – in this case, by hiring thousands of Ethiopians at wages a fraction of what they would have to pay in China. But in Ethiopia, Huajian workers told Associated Press they work without safety equipment for pay so low they can barely make ends meet…

With epic cinematography, Amazing China articulates a message of how China would like to be seen as it pursues President Xi Jinping’s vision of a globally resurgent nation, against a reality that doesn’t always measure up…

The film’s director, Wei Tie, said he was not aware of the controversy surrounding Huajian… That is not surprising given the years of positive coverage Huajian has enjoyed in China’s Communist Party-controlled media…

Wei said he featured the company because it is “introducing China’s experience of prosperity to Africa”.

The film celebrates Huajian as a model of the inclusiveness at the heart of a much larger project – Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, a plan to spread Chinese infrastructure and influence across dozens of countries…

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