German carmaker Volkswagen has sold its operations in Xinjiang, China to a Chinese state-owned group. The move comes after years of pressure from human rights groups as well as financial losses.

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China's Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.

German car giant VW said that it would sell its factory and test track in Xinjiang for "economic reasons." China has been accused of using forced labor from ethnic Uyghurs in the region.

The boss of the company behind global fashion chain Uniqlo has told the BBC that the Japanese firm does not use cotton from the Xinjiang region of China in its products. It is the first time Fast Retailing's chief executive Tadashi Yanai has directly addressed the contentious issue.

Uniqlo doesn't use cotton from China's Xinjiang region to make its products, Tadashi Yanai, the chief executive of Fast Retailing, the company behind the global fashion chain, has said.

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo does not use cotton from the Xinjiang region in northwest China, the company's boss said.