China-Pakistan cooperation in textiles remain untapped: official

BEIJING: China and Pakistan are both major producers and exporters of textiles and surely there is a degree of competition between them.

However, the different stages of industrial development between the two countries also create broad space for closer cooperation, Vice President of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT) Zhang Xian, said.

Pakistan is one of the world’s leading cotton producers, ranking among the top five in terms of yield, with cotton textile products, accounting for 40 per cent of its exports.

Talking about competition, “Pakistan’s cotton industry has obvious edges. Compared with China, Pakistan’s home textiles and garment products have certain competitive advantages in the European Union and the United States,” Zhang told China Economic Net.

In terms of bilateral cooperation and exchange, “Pakistan and China are perfect partners and there’s a lot that can be done,” Zhang said.

According to Pakistani Customs statistics, the country’s imports of textiles and apparel from China accounts for 62 per cent of its total imports, which makes China its largest source of textile and garment imports.

As per the statistics released by the General Administration of Customs of China, China’s imports from Pakistan are mainly cotton yarn and Pakistan ranks third among China’s import sources of cotton yarn.

As a major garment producer, Pakistan’s export of home textiles, clothing and other processed products to the European Union, the United States and other countries and regions has witnessed a rapid growth these years, which has also driven the rapid growth of yarn and fabric imports from China, promoting the cooperation between China and Pakistan in the industrial chain.

Also, China is competitive in brand building, enterprise management, capital operation, talent cultivation, industrial facilities and other aspects, which are of great use for Pakistan’s textile industry.

Zhang also said, “The potential of a combination of strengths and weaknesses provides opportunities for deepening cooperation between the two countries’ textile industries.”

“China is willing to strengthen investment cooperation with Pakistan in the textile and garment industry,” Zhang said, adding that collaboration and competition coexist for the textile industry in both countries and Sino-Pak cooperation in the textile industry is untapped. Established in October 1988, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT), as part of the Ministry of Commerce, China, is the largest textile and apparel trade agency both in China and the world.

Its member companies comprise the majority of Chinese textile and apparel enterprises, incorporating domestic manufacturers, export and import enterprises, as well as jointly-funded operations, the trade volume of which accounts for 70 per cent of the total export and import volume of Chinese textile and apparel industry as a whole.