Starbucks Opened Two Stores in Xinjiang. Then It Went Silent.
What happened. On September 29, 2026, Starbucks opened its first two cafés in Xinjiang, China's far-western region — one inside Urumqi's International Grand Bazaar, the other at Tianshan International Airport. Starbucks China CEO Molly Liu framed the move as deepening the company's presence in the market and building "lasting relationships with local customers."
The timing. The openings landed just one day after the Free Enterprise Project, part of the National Center for Public Policy Research, filed a shareholder proposal for Starbucks' 2027 annual meeting demanding the company disclose whether the solar equipment in its renewable-energy projects — modules, cells, wafers, polysilicon — can be traced away from Xinjiang's forced-labor programs. Whatever the internal planning behind the store openings, the optics were immediate: a company facing investor questions about forced labor in its supply chain chose that exact week to open retail stores in the region at the center of the allegations.
The backlash. The World Uyghur Congress said Starbucks was "once again choosing to ignore a dire human rights situation" by opening in the region. On October 2, John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the US House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, called the openings "a shocking and morally bankrupt decision by a company that prides itself on social responsibility" and demanded Starbucks "immediately reverse course and close its stores." The Free Enterprise Project's Steve Milloy went further, writing that Starbucks was "selling coffee to Chinese Communist Party elites as they commit crimes against humanity."
Starbucks' response — to one audience only. Starbucks did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the backlash. It did, however, post a statement on its official WeChat account — reaching Chinese consumers, not the US committee or Western press — saying the new locations weren't just coffee shops but "a new experience that blended local culture and customer needs," and signaling it would keep investing in Xinjiang. As of this writing, no equivalent statement has been made to US lawmakers, shareholders, or international media.
The other side. China's Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism outright. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the "genocide" framing "a blatant lie" and said the US committee "has absolutely no credibility to speak of," adding that "today's Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic prosperity, ethnic unity, and religious harmony." Beijing has pointed to Starbucks' expansion as evidence that foreign business confidence in the region remains intact.
Takeaways:
- Silence to one audience is still a message to everyone else. Going quiet with Reuters and Congress while speaking warmly to Chinese consumers on WeChat reads, to Western observers, as a company picking a side — even if that wasn't the intent.
- Market-entry timing is a reputational decision, not just a commercial one. Opening stores in a politically sensitive region the same week a shareholder proposal about that exact region's supply chain lands on your desk is a self-inflicted wound regardless of intent.
- Geopolitical crossfire has no safe lane. Praised by Beijing, condemned in Washington — Starbucks now carries a reputational cost in both directions, with no single statement able to satisfy both audiences.
- Investor pressure runs on a slower clock than the news cycle. The shareholder proposal won't be voted on until the 2027 annual meeting, but the reputational bill is already due — and being paid in silence.
Sources: CNBC, Nikkei Asia (Reuters), National Center for Public Policy Research, Global Times.
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