The area of cotton planting in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reached 40.9 million mu (2.73 million hectares) in 2025, up 3.3 percent from last year, according to a report released by the China Cotton Association (CCA).
Overall, China's cotton planting area reached 44.823 million mu, maintaining positive momentum, the CCA report said, given that the country's cotton planting area remains stable and current weather conditions in Xinjiang are favorable for cotton production.
Xinjiang is China's largest cotton-producing region, contributing 92.2 percent of the country's total cotton output in 2024, reaching a record high, according to the Xinjiang Regional Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Some Western officials and media outlets have previously tried to levy unfounded accusations such as "forced labor" on Xinjiang cotton. However, those claims have been effectively refuted and the West's crackdown attempt has failed to halt the industry's steady growth, according to Li Guoxiang, a research fellow at the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
A separate industry report released in May showed that in 2024, Xinjiang not only maintained stable cotton production but also saw continued improvement in quality, with high-grade cotton with a length of more than 28 mm making up 98.1 percent of total output. Li said several factors have strengthened Xinjiang's role as China's leading cotton-producing region, including favorable natural conditions, high yields per unit area and rich reserves of superior quality, especially long-staple cotton. He also pointed to a high degree of mechanization in harvesting, which boosts production efficiency, as well as strong policy support. In addition, projects aimed at enhancing the efficiency and quality of the cotton industry are steadily progressing. For example, the Sustainable Cotton Development Program initiated and implemented by the CCA in Xinjiang has achieved remarkable progress. So far, the region has produced a total of 430,000 tons of sustainable cotton from 1.2 million mu of certified cotton farms, China Media Group reported.
