Hong
Kong (CNN)"The United States does not have the qualification to speak to China." As far as slogans go, it's not necessarily the catchiest. But the phrase, along with several others uttered by top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi during heated talks with the US earlier this month, has become an unlikely fashion hit in China, appearing on T-shirts, phone cases and other items.
The arrival of the T-shirts on Chinese e-commerce sites -- just hours after Yang traded barbs with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Alaska -- captures the changing mood in Beijing, as policy makers signal a new willingness to push back against criticism of alleged human rights abuses, particularly those centered on Xinjiang.
In recent days, China has leveled reciprocal sanctions against the United Kingdom and the European Union, targeting lawmakers and academics, which it accused of "maliciously spreading lies and disinformation" regarding Beijing's treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
China's so-called "wolf warrior" diplomats and state media have attacked Western governments online, rallying against what they term "hypocritical double standards," while drawing attention to the West's own legacy of historical injustice.
And all this has come as the government appears to be stoking a new wave of online nationalism.
Major European clothing label H&M was pulled from several e-commerce stores in China on Thursday after the ruling Communist Party's youth organization highlighted a months-old company statement speaking out against allegations of forced labor connected to Xinjiang's cotton industry.
Other businesses, including Nike, Adidas and Burberry, were soon dragged into the social media outcry, amid calls for a nationwide boycott. Posts containing an "I support Xinjiang cotton" hashtag on China's Twitter-like platform, Weibo, have been read more than 4.4 billion times.
In an editorial Friday, the editor of state-run tabloid Global Times, Hu Xijin, said the "battlefield" over Xinjiang could become the "frontline" in the ideological conflict between the US and China.
With the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party just months away, an apparent line has been drawn for those wishing to negotiate or do business with Beijing -- making clear that Western values are not necessarily compatible with access to the China market.
Reset rollback
When US President Joe Biden took office in January, the Chinese government appeared to be publicly angling for a reset in relations.
Under former US leader Donald Trump, tensions between Beijing and Washington rapidly escalated, with both sides imposing a series of retaliatory tariffs, sanctions and visa restrictions.
At the same time, the Chinese government faced allegations of serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where Washington alleges up to 2 million people from Muslim minorities have been detained in a network of camps across the region. China denies the allegations, insisting the camps are voluntary "vocational training centers" designed to stamp out religious extremism and terrorism.
The reset Beijing hoped for never came. Shortly before the Alaska meeting, the US announced new sanctions against officials in Hong Kong over the Chinese government's crackdown on civil liberties in the global financial hub. At the meeting in Alaska on Thursday, US and Chinese officials feuded in front of the media.
On Monday, the US, Canada, UK and EU all announced targeted sanctions against Chinese officials in Xinjiang. In a joint statement, the grouping decried China's alleged "use of forced labor, mass detention in internment camps, forced sterilizations, and the concerted destruction of Uyghur heritage."
