Shaoxing textile enterprises team up to seek global deals
An increasing number of textile enterprises in Shaoxing's Keqiao district, Zhejiang province are expanding overseas investment and exploring global markets together by taking full advantage of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
These enterprises benefit from the district government's policies on promoting local brands internationally and helping China Textile Town in Keqiao gain a larger presence in the global market.
China Textile Town held its first overseas expo in Yangon from Dec 8-10, 2017. It was the first textile expo jointly hosted by Myanmar and China.
A group of 96 companies from Keqiao attended the expo, accounting for two-thirds of the event's total exhibitors. They attracted about 113,000 traders from Myanmar and neighboring countries and received over 480 orders of intent worth $50 million.
In addition to arranging for local enterprises to take part in major international expos, the district also encourages leading foreign trade companies in the textile industry to globalize by registering trademarks abroad, mergers and acquisitions, and overseas processing.
Due to its multi-faceted efforts, the district's trade volume with some ASEAN and Central and Eastern European countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative maintained an average annual growth rate of more than 10 percent.
According to statistics from Shaoxing Customs, the district's import-export revenue from local products reached 68.45 billion yuan ($10.95 billion) in 2017, up 9.29 percent from last year.
"The huge demand, low production costs, and preferential policies of the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative provide great potential for cooperation and exchanges between Keqiao and these countries," said Wang Jian, deputy director of the district's commerce bureau.
The district will continue to lead companies in hosting textile expos in Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh in order to help China Textile Town gain more influence in the global market.