Shanghai set for textile showcase
Write:
Wren [2011-05-20]
SHANGHAI - China’s largest city and the hub of its vast textile industry is gearing itself up to welcome more than 100,000 visitors to ITMA Asia + CITME 2008.
From July 27 to 31, the city will host China’s biggest-ever textile machinery exhibition, uniting the ITMA and CITME events for the first time to provide a ground-breaking display of the latest knitting technology.
Jointly owned by CEMATEX and a Chinese consortium made up of CCPIT (Sub-council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade), CTMA (China Textile Machinery Association), and CIEC (China International Exhibition Centre Group Corporation), the largest single international contingent is expected to come from India following the successful roadshows to promote the show that have been held in eight major Indian textile centres. So far, some 15 state and local textile associations have confirmed that they will send delegations to Shanghai (click here to register online).
The first collaboration between ITMA and CITME arrives in Shanghai at a curious time for the Chinese textile industry. Where once the demand from overseas markets for Chinese made textiles was bordering on the insatiable, certain parts of the industry are now experiencing something of a slowdown.
The Chinese government has intervened to add unprecedented levels of regulation into the textile industry and attempts to improve the reputation and standards of the sector appear to have backfired with reports that thousands of jobs continue to disappear as factories close en masse.
To make matters worse, the government has so far failed to come up with any initiatives aimed at stemming the flood of apparel production operations moving out of China to neighbouring countries.