Business
January 11, 2005
Over hundred billion USD recorded for Chinese textile trade in 2004
As learned from China National Textile Industry Council China's imports and exports of textiles are expected to total 103 billion USD in 2004.
The exports are estimated to reach 98 billion USD, an increase of 22 percent over the previous year. In 2003, China's textile foreign trade valued at 80.4 billion USD which accounted for 20 percent of the world's total textile trade. The share is likely to be higher in 2004.
Du Yuzhou, Chairman of the Council, said that 35 percent of China's textile exports were made by foreign-funded producers in China. This, he asserted, has proved the integration of China's textile industry into the globalization on one hand and indicated that China is not the only one benefiting from its textile exports.
However, China's textile exporters will face even higher than ever pressure after the removal of textile quotas around the world. Developed countries like US and EU, along with some developing nations like Turkey, have imposed or are considering special safeguard measures to guard against cheap Chinese textile products.
Euratex has filed an application recently for such actions against several Chinese textile products to European Commission which is expected to make decisions in mid-January this year.
Before that, Turkey announced special safeguard measures targeting at 42 kinds of Chinese textile products. US is also considering to restrict imports of Chinese textile products.
Although textile and apparels imports from China are mostly cheap but with low added value, concerns about the possibility of Chinese textiles dominating the world market have prompted in the post-quota era have prompted those countries to keep high alert on Chinese competitors.
Their strategies include anti-dumping taxes, safeguard or special safeguard measures, technical barriers and freer market access to more suppliers.
China understands these worries and is trying to assure its partners and upgrade its own industry. It has levied taxes on its textile exporters. There is a textile dialogue mechanism between China and its biggest trade partner EU which is one of the results of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Brussels last May.
But it seems that various trade barriers will be unavoidable. For Chinese textile producers and exporters, the best solution is to add more value to their products, which is right what their foreign competitors are doing.
By People's Daily Online
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