Analysis Despite China’s boycott over Western sportswear giants, whose refusal to use Xinjiang cotton has triggered countrywide anger, on March 26, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid a special visit to a raw materials supplier for Nike and Adidas in Jiangsu province. One expert said that China was placating the West by “playing good cop” in the game of counter-sanctions. On March 24, the Communist Youth League Central Committee, an affiliate of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), slammed the “wishful thinking” of the Swedish fashion brand H&M for banning cotton from the forced labor of Uyghur Muslims, while profiting from the Chinese market. The knock-on effect was soon in motion as other foreign apparel and footwear brands such as Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Burberry, and Tommy Hilfiger followed suit, bolstering Chinese nationalists’ calls for a nationwide boycott of the brands. However, Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Jiangsu province last Friday included …