梅兰芳

A GT investigation examines the funding, government ties and questionable business practices of seven US entities subject to China’s countermeasures_我的网站

一 |     　　2026年盛夏，在米兰Esxence香水艺术展上一众浓烈的欧式香调中，清润的茶韵、温婉的桂香、醇厚的沉香悄然弥散，数家中国香水品牌携旗下产品惊艳亮相，吸引全球参展者驻足体验。这一幕，正是中国香水产业扬帆“出海”、崭露锋芒的生动缩影。

二 | 　　近年来，中国香水“出海”热潮持续升温，产业增长势能不断释放。    A piece of cotton fabric, an AI supply-chain map, a "human rights" report and an electronics certification document appear to have little in common. 
Behind them, however, are the US entities that have helped build and operate Washington's machinery of restrictions against China - tracing materials linked to Xinjiang region, mapping supply chains for enforcement, producing reports used to advance "forced labor" allegations, converting those allegations into corporate compliance pressure, and lobbying to exclude Chinese laboratories from the US market.
On August 5, China responded.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced the countermeasures against Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., Stratum Reservoir, LLC., Altana Technologies, Inc., Responsible Business Alliance, Verite Group, Inc. and Human Rights in China, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 
These countermeasures, which took effect on Wednesday, were adopted in response to the US sanctions against Chinese companies under the pretext of "forced labor" in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the ministry.
In a separate decision, Compliance Testing LLC was listed over its support for restrictive measures taken by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to Xinhua. Compliance Testing LLC assisted and supported the FCC in taking these measures, which endanger China's sovereignty, security and development interests.
Chinese organizations and individuals are prohibited from conducting relevant transactions or cooperation with these entities.
Public filings and company disclosures point to a more complicated picture: The seven US entities listed by China occupy different points along a chain extending from research and laboratory testing to AI-powered supply-chain mapping and compliance services, while some have changed their core business or retained operations linked to China.
Who are these entities, who pays them and what exactly have they done to Chinese companies? GT found more behind the names through an investigation into corporate filings, government contracts, funding records and public statements.

    Photos: VCGTests, data and algorithms
The path from the US government's Xinjiang-related allegations to enforcement actions runs through laboratory testing, supply-chain data and algorithmic screening. Three of the entities targeted by China's latest countermeasures have served as "hired guns" along that path. 
Back to May 2024, Applied DNA Sciences and Stratum Reservoir drew international attention with a study of 822 cotton-containing products collected from major retailers and e-commerce platforms between February 2023 and March 2024. According to Reuters, 19 percent contained traces of cotton from Xinjiang region. Among the positive samples presented as having a single origin, 57 percent were labeled as containing only US cotton. The two companies declined to identify the retailers and brands involved.
But the test itself identifies a probable geographical origin: It does not examine recruitment, wages or conditions at a workplace. Those geographical findings acquire legal consequences through the US' prevention act on "forced labor" in Xinjiang, under which goods produced wholly or partly in Xinjiang face a rebuttable presumption.
According to an Applied DNA announcement republished by NASDAQ, the company received a subcontract from LRQA (Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance) in 2024 for an isotopic-testing pilot involving Pakistan's cotton sector. Under the subcontract, Applied DNA and its traceability partner Isotech, a Stratum Reservoir company, were to conduct isotopic testing and analysis. The pilot formed part of the US Department of Labor-funded Global Trace Protocol project, whose overall budget was $4 million. 
By the time China announced its countermeasures, however, Applied DNA had undergone a striking corporate transformation. A May 2026 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission identifies the company as BNB Plus Corp, formerly Applied DNA Sciences, and describes it primarily as a digital-asset treasury company holding BNB cryptocurrency. The filing says it stopped providing textile isotopic-testing services during the previous fiscal year and was exiting its DNA tagging and security business.
The same filing recorded a net loss of $25.27 million for the six months ending March 31, 2026, as well as an accumulated deficit of $404.45 million.
Stratum Reservoir followed a different path into cotton traceability. The company was formerly the laboratory-services arm of oilfield-services group Weatherford. In 2019, Weatherford sold the business to an investor group led by CSL Capital for $206 million in cash, according to the Weatherford's website.
Stratum's own company profile still centers on reservoir characterization and laboratory analysis of rocks and fluids. Through Isotech, however, expertise developed for analyzing natural resources was extended to cotton-origin testing.
According to an Applied DNA announcement republished by NASDAQ, Applied DNA and Stratum Reservoir's Isotech division signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2021 to use isotopic analysis as a confirmatory test for determining cotton origin.
If Applied DNA and Stratum work from physical samples, Altana Technologies operates at the level of data networks. 
In 2023, Altana announced that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had awarded it a multi-year contract to provide what the company called a "foundational map of the global supply chain." Its Atlas platform applies artificial intelligence to public, non-public and proprietary data. 
According to Altana's announcement, thousands of Customs and Border Protection users would be able to conduct network analysis, screen value chains and compile evidence supporting enforcement actions.
That government relationship continued to expand. Records from the US government show that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded Altana another contract in July 2026, with nearly $7.5 million obligated for a forced-labor tool and trade-compliance modules through June 2029.
Altana's personnel structure further reflects its focus on government enforcement. Its leadership page lists government affairs chief Scott Friedman as a former DHS assistant secretary for trade and economic security. Its advisory board includes a former CBP commissioner and several former customs, intelligence and national security officials.
Altana also markets compliance services to companies facing the same enforcement system. In joint promotional material, Altana and Kharon say CBP analysts use their platforms to enforce the US forced labor import ban framework, while businesses can screen shipments through the "exact lens" used by regulators - placing Altana on both the enforcement and corporate-compliance sides of the market.
Together, the three companies illustrate how a technical chain can acquire enforcement power: A laboratory assigns a probable origin to a physical sample; a data platform connects companies, products and shipments across borders; government agencies use those findings to prioritize investigations or support enforcement. 
Roles in a false narrative chain

"Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth" is a maxim of propaganda often attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. In the US' fabrication of the false narrative of "forced labor" in Xinjiang region and its effort to construct a complete chain of policies aimed at suppressing China, certain actors have repeatedly spread lies that smear China through softer means such as agenda-setting, report manufacturing, industry standard-setting and rule-based lobbying.
Among the seven US entities countered by China's Ministry of Commerce this time, some have played precisely such a role.
"Human Rights in China (HRIC)" is likely one of the key actors directly supplying the "ammunition" in this chain. Based in New York and long active on Xinjiang-related accusations, the NGO has even funneled disinformation, acting as a lobbyist and relentlessly pushing for the passage of more restrictive anti-China legislation, the Global Times found.
For years, HRIC's website has published large volumes of disinformation and allegations of "human rights abuses" targeting Xinjiang region, including the content that was plainly fabricated. The organization has also long maintained close ties with certain parts of the US government. In an early transcript of a Joint House and Senate hearing from February 2002, the Global Times found there were extensive sections detailing HRIC's "recommendations" to the US government's "Congressional-Executive Commission on China," including, but not limited to, exploiting the human rights narrative to urge the US government to adopt restrictive regulations and rules targeting "China's WTO accession obligations" and the "Beijing Olympics 2008." 
US labor-rights nonprofit Verite played the role of a fabricator of "evidence." This organization was once invited by the Switzerland-based Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to join an investigation into whether "forced labor" was being used in cotton-related industries in the Xinjiang region. The budget for the project was $88,200, including $51,950 for Verite US headquarters and $18,250 for the Shenzhen Verite, a company affiliated to the organization, the Global Times learned.
However, there was no record in the Shenzhen Verite's financial reimbursement records of any employee going to Xinjiang to conduct a field survey on this BCI project. Worse still, employees from Shenzhen Verite told the Global Times that they did not go to Xinjiang for field surveys when putting together the draft report, but relied on online materials. They even referred to a report by the infamous anti-China "scholar" Adrian Zenz on "forced labor" in Xinjiang. Clearly, Verite's "investigation" was in fact a performance serving anti-China political purposes.
The next step in the fabrication chain of false narratives about China is to turn accusations into enforceable industry standards. The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) has likely played a pivotal role in that process.
As a global coalition of major electronics companies, the RBA's Validated Assessment Program (VAP) and Responsible Labor Initiative (RLI) are widely regarded as gold-standard benchmarks for supplier screening by many multinational corporations. Yet on Xinjiang-related issues, RBA has allegedly issued supply-chain compliance guidance grounded in a predetermined position, indirectly aligning itself with US sanctions policy and pressuring many multinational firms to sever ties with China-linked industries.
    Photos: VCGIn a statement posted on its website in March 2020, for instance, the RBA cited a report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), an anti-China think tank. The RBA-cited report alleged that "forced labor" involving Uygur minority citizens in China "has been introduced into the supply chains of international brands across multiple industries," and said that it "has been closely following developments." This presumption of guilt has absurdly transformed a fabricated claim into a de facto compliance threshold in corporate operations.
Compliance Testing LLC took a more direct approach. In 2025, it called for Chinese laboratories to be banned from participating in US regulatory testing, arguing that the move would protect US' test labs and US engineer's jobs, the company's website showed. Its CEO, Michael Schafer, even declared on the website that "China is out."
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently took negative measures against China, including barring devices with components from Chinese firms, which severely infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. 
"Compliance Testing LLC assisted and supported the FCC in taking these measures, which endanger China's sovereignty, security and development interests," Xinhua reported on August 5. Compliance Testing LLC is a driving force behind the anti-China measures issued by the FCC, state broadcaster CCTV News said on August 9.
US' deepening 'China anxiety'
There is no evidence showing that the seven entities operate as a unified organization, and their businesses and methods differ widely. What has connected them is not organizational affiliation but function: They occupy different points in a broader system that turns Xinjiang-related allegations into technical tests, supply-chain data, corporate compliance pressure and, eventually, government action.
Applied DNA and Stratum provide tools for tracing the origin of raw materials; Altana maps supply chains for regulators and businesses; HRIC and Verite produce and circulate reports and allegations; the RBA carries such claims into corporate compliance practices; and Compliance Testing has lobbied the US government to restrict Chinese laboratories. Their roles are distinct, but these functions can reinforce one another as allegations move from advocacy and research into commercial screening and regulatory enforcement. 
Chinese economist Bai Ming told the Global Times that, viewed together, the pattern resembles what he described as a "package deal," with different actors providing mutually reinforcing elements for accusations and sanctions against China.
"The ever-lengthening US trade restriction lists actually reflect the US' deepening 'China anxiety,'" Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, told the Global Times.
Gao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that in recent years, the US has frequently invoked the "forced labor" rhetoric to restrict and suppress Chinese enterprises and curb the country's industrial development. China's countermeasures, he said, are not indiscriminate but are precisely calibrated to respond to specific US actions, reflecting a balance between defending national interests and preserving openness to cooperation.
Xiang argued that unilateral restrictions will not strengthen the US economy but will raise costs for American companies. 
"These measures are driven by industrial competition and fear of losing dominance in the coming era of embodied intelligence," he said. "But they will backfire, increase global supply-chain costs and hinder cooperation."
Gao noted that if the US government continues its discriminatory policies, China may take further action. 
"A healthy China-US economic relationship requires mutual respect and equal benefit. Unilateral pressure and 'decoupling' will only raise costs on both sides and destabilize the global economy," he noted.

。据海关总署统计数据，2026年上半年，中国香水及花露水出口额为25.02亿元，同比增长31.05%。中国香水，正逐渐登上全球舞台。　　眼下，中国香水已然实现了“被看见”的突破。

三 | 不过，从收获国际展会的瞩目，到成为全球消费者的常态化选择，中国香水的全球化征程仍道阻且长。　　海外扬名　　回顾2025年，Melt Season、竹浮ZHUFU等20余个中国品牌首次集中亮相“巴黎—上海香水展”，展会现场氛围热烈，桂花、普洱、沉香等独具中式意境的香气，吸引了大量海外观众和时尚买手驻足体验。海外消费者对中国香水的认知，从惊讶于“中国也有自己的香水品牌吗”，到开始期待中国品牌差异化的原创内容和审美体验。　　从“质疑有无”到“主动期待”，海外消费者认知的转变，是中国香水原创实力与东方香韵文化价值持续释放的成果。　　中国香料香精化妆品工业协会(以下简称“中国香妆协会”)理事长颜江瑛向《证券日报》记者表示，中国香水“出海”热潮背后，是三股力量的交汇：“一是文化自觉正转化为产业自觉，品牌相信自己的嗅觉审美值得被世界感知；二是我国正从香水‘生产大国’向‘创新强国’跨越；三是桂花、茶、沉香等东方香调为全球消费者提供了一个全新的嗅觉维度。”　　依托差异化优势，国内头部香水品牌纷纷推进全球化布局，虽发展路径各异，但布局高端赛道、输出东方美学的核心方向高度统一。　　主打东方文化叙事的高端香氛品牌‌观夏，选择从亚洲市场开启全球化探索。

四 | 观夏品牌方面向《证券日报》记者表示，亚洲城市之间存在共通的东方生活经验，便于检验本土品牌的跨文化表达与感知能力。　　主打“禅酷”风格的高浓度香水品牌闻献，自创立之初就对标国际行业标准布局发展。闻献品牌创始人孟昭然向《证券日报》记者表示，国际化拓展是品牌既定发展战略，从产品设计到内容传播，品牌均以国际化标准统筹规划，力求在东方精神内核与全球通用审美之间找到平衡。　　主打沙龙香水的Melt Season，对标国际一线品牌的售价与成本结构开展运营。Melt Season创始人倪丽诗表示：“我们通过精细化供应链管理，保障产品的品质与利润。我们还借鉴全球头部品牌的成熟运营经验，有效提升了品牌海外渠道拓展的核心竞争力。

五 | ”　　正如孟昭然所言，十年前，中国香水品牌多以学习国际品牌的产品逻辑为主。如今，国产品牌更关注如何讲述属于中国的香气故事，从香材甄选、产品命名到视觉体系搭建，全面构建具备鲜明中国文化辨识度的品牌语言。　　不过，从“被看见”到“被选择”，东方香韵的全球化之路，仍是一场考验企业耐心与产业定力的长跑。　　气味图书馆相关负责人对《证券日报》记者表示，国际市场对中国香水的关注度正持续提升，但尚未形成规模化、稳定的海外消费市场。　　瓶颈凸显　　整体来看，产业链短板、文化差异、海外渠道桎梏、品牌运营思维局限等问题交织，仍制约着中国香水产业规模化“出海”进程。　　业内人士认为，中国香水“出海”面临的第一道门槛是产业链上游存在短板。

六 | 目前，国内高端天然香料高度依赖进口，自主可控的优质香材供给体系尚未完善。同时，我国专业调香师培养体系尚不完善，高端创作人才缺口明显。原料与人才的双重短板，导致行业难以形成独立成熟的东方嗅觉审美体系。

七 | 　　“国内香水产业瓶颈客观存在，但破局路径已逐步清晰。

八 | ”颜江瑛对《证券日报》记者表示，中国拥有沉香、桂花、陈皮、茶等丰富的本土天然香材资源，这正是产业发展的根基所在。

九 | 　　为补齐短板，上海应用技术大学、北京工商大学等高校持续向行业输送专业人才。中国香妆协会通过举办中国调香师大会，搭建产学研交流平台，不断完善行业人才培育体系与技术创新体系。　　文化差异是中国香水“出海”面临的第二道门槛。当前，多数国产香水的东方文化表达，仅停留在桂花、竹、茶香等表层符号堆砌上，缺乏深层次、差异化的文化内核解读，导致“东方美学”逐渐沦为同质化营销模板，难以塑造品牌专属的差异化记忆点与持久品牌竞争力。　　观夏品牌方面提到，国内丰富的香材资源与用香历史，尚未形成全球调香体系通用的专业语言，难以直接适配国际香氛产业。为此，观夏启动“东方香料归源计划”，深度参与本土香材全链条开发，推动景迈普洱、新会陈皮等特色原料纳入国际香氛专业体系，助力东方香韵建立标准化、国际化的专业表达体系。　　更为关键的是，中外嗅觉审美差异形成的“气味翻译断层”，进一步加大了中国香水“出海”的难度。　　在业界看来，欧美市场偏好浓烈、存在感突出的香调，而中式审美主打克制留白、余韵绵长的意境表达，二者的嗅觉审美逻辑差异显著。　　“不同地区消费者存在嗅觉偏好差异，但随着全球文化交流日益频繁，审美边界也在不断融合。真正具有文化价值的产品，具备跨越地域的能力。”孟昭然表示，“我们会以中国文化为创作内核，以国际化的调香语言完成专业表达。”　　毛戈平品牌相关负责人也对《证券日报》记者表示，品牌香水“出海”，核心是输出文化名片，“我们观察到国外消费者对香型的选择更多样化，更重视香气背后的独特表达、人文故事与精神共鸣，这正是中国香水走向世界的绝佳契机。”　　如果说文化差异是软性挑战，那么渠道与合规壁垒，则是中国香水规模化“出海”的硬性关卡。　　从线下销售渠道来看，欧莱雅、LVMH等国际巨头长期垄断欧美高端百货、精品香氛核心渠道资源，本土品牌难以获取优质线下展位资源。此外，海外小众买手店体量有限，无法支撑中国香水的规模化销售布局。东南亚、中东等潜力市场渠道分散，本土化配套体系建设周期长、成本高。　　线上销售渠道同样面临困境。跨境电商平台低价白牌产品泛滥，持续固化“中国香水=平价平替”的刻板印象，让本土高端自主品牌难以突破海外高端价格带，陷入高端市场突围难、低端市场“内卷”激烈的双向挤压困境。　　此外，行业长期固化的粗放式“卖货思维”，严重制约了品牌高端化升级与全球化发展。

十 | 奢侈品研究机构要客研究院院长周婷对《证券日报》记者表示，国内香水行业长期陷入“重销量、轻品牌”的卖货思维误区，扎堆比拼产能、价格与包装复刻，鲜有品牌真正理解高端产品的底层运营逻辑。品牌若没有独有的气味表达、清晰的文化内核、一致的高端调性，很容易沦为国际大牌的廉价替代品。　　业内人士认为，行业破局方向已然明确，品牌唯有推进原料国产化、文化叙事精细化、“出海”渠道多元化、品牌运营高端化，才能确立在国际市场中的竞争优势。

十一 | 　　聚力突围　　当下，依托产业技术、品牌文化、行业标准三大支柱，中国香水产业的全球化破局路径愈发清晰。　　产品技术与品质，是香水品牌的核心竞争力。“没有技术支撑的文化叙事是无源之水。我国香水产业正处于从流量驱动转向科技驱动、从价格竞争迈向价值竞争的关键节点。

十二 | ”颜江瑛提到，品牌竞争的终极战场是消费者心智认知。东方香韵的品牌溢价能力与文化叙事深度直接挂钩。

十三 | 　　周婷认为，中国拥有完整的香水供应链与丰富的芳香植物原料储备，行业必须持续攻坚原料提取、专业调香等核心技术，把原料价值“炼”出来，夯实产品品质底座。

十四 | 　　文化创新是品牌突围的关键。孟昭然表示，长期以来，全球香水行业的话语体系主要由欧洲主导，但中国拥有几千年的用香历史，焚香、佩香、节气、草木、山川、人文，皆可成为创作资源。

十五 | “我们需要补足的是持续输出具有原创性的品牌文化内容。”　　气味图书馆相关负责人向《证券日报》记者表示：“值得被世界关注的，不只有复刻的古典东方，还有正在发生的中国生活。我们要让中国的生活经验与审美选择，平等融入全球香水语境。”　　The Trade Desk中国区资深业务拓展总监吴昱霖对《证券日报》记者表示：“中国香水品牌大多仍处于品牌建设的早期阶段。我们有优质的产品、完善的制造能力，但还缺少将这些优势讲出来、传播出去的能力。在场景与内容中与全球消费者建立信任感，对品牌全球化塑造至关重要。”　　此外，近年来，中国香妆协会主动对接国际行业组织，推动本土产业从被动适配国际规则，转向主动参与国际规则和行业标准的制定工作。颜江瑛表示，中国香水产业的全球化，不止是产品“出海”，更是话语权“出海”，行业需从国际规则的参与者升级为行业标准的共建者。

十六 | 　　在业内人士看来，中国香水在标准体系建设方面需多维发力：一是原料维度，要提高对本土香材资源的开发与可持续管理水平，推动原料提取技术与产业化能力升级；二是人才维度，完善调香师人才培育体系，推动调香技艺从经验传承走向科学化、体系化发展；三是可持续发展维度，加快行业绿色低碳标准的制定与推广，让中国香水在国际新赛道抢占先发优势。　　战略品牌专家、晶捷品牌咨询创始人陈晶晶对《证券日报》记者表示，中国香水“出海”还可积极借助本土经销商力量，融入当地生态、利用当地渠道开拓业务。　　已有多个品牌积极探索、形成分层递进的“出海”路径：第一阶段，通过社交媒体传播、参加国际展会等形式完成大众市场认知培育；第二阶段，入驻专业买手店、艺术文化空间等场景，搭建线下沉浸式体验渠道；第三阶段，积累稳定用户后，落地海外独立门店并搭建本地化运营团队，稳步推进全球化市场布局。　　综合来看，中国香水产业“出海”正处于从“量”到“质”、从“产品输出”到“文化输出”、从“规则跟随”到“标准引领”的关键转折期。想要实现从简单“走出去”到深度“走进去”的跨越，不仅考验企业的产品硬实力，也考验整个产业的耐心与定力。

十七 | （记者 梁傲男）。

Current article:http://0pqlf7k.minshixuanhabing.bond/news/20260826_769317.html

Published on:02:52:16