Ten Years After WTO Entry: The Twists And Turns Of China'S Garment Industry

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RMB appreciation, labor shortage, international

Talking about WTO at this time of 2011 is not a hot topic at least in the clothing industry.

When enterprises operate under the WTO framework, they have become accustomed to nature, and internalize all kinds of rules into daily operations.

In October 23, 2011, the ongoing Ningbo clothing festival has become the business card of the city.

"Clothing is the largest business card in Ningbo, and almost any garment is produced here," Zhang Xiao Feng, Secretary General of the Ningbo clothing association, told reporters. "From joining WTO to the present, Ningbo's clothing industry has adapted to the international market.

When joining the WTO in 2001, the garment industry was considered to be one of the most profitable industries in China.

Ten years later, changes are taking place.

"Ten years ago, everyone was concerned about this matter and talked about it. Now many enterprises have forgotten this thing. The Ningbo apparel industry has integrated into the WTO system and is accustomed to the operation within this framework. When the WTO rules are no longer the object of concern, it proves that the enterprises have adapted to it."

Han Lianggen, a big road import and export company, told reporters.

Whether Ningbo or other Chinese clothing export places, before the accession to the WTO, export quotas were once a barrier for most enterprises to go beyond. After that, various anti dumping investigations were launched against China's textile and clothing exports, and the vigorous vitality of the garment industry was going forward.

"After the accession to the WTO, the export quota is not the most important. The 23 categories of textile products are usually quotas before, without quota restrictions, and the competition in the international market has become fair."

Anti dumping is not terrible. It is the key to Ningbo's good practice.

"Textile and garment industry can be said to be the most suitable for WTO rules. It has the greatest influence in the world, and the fastest growth of production capacity and technology content. Clothing is the last product, and the advantage is gradually accumulated in the upstream industry."

Zhang Xiaofeng said.

In fact, from the perspective of the entire textile and garment industry, the main target of many anti-dumping investigations against Chinese enterprises is the chemical fiber industry, rather than garment manufacturing.

"Why is it so? Because the world needs Chinese clothing instead of China's chemical products, polyester is produced by line production, and the degree of industrialization is much higher, and the most important thing in producing garments is skilled workers, which is the biggest advantage of China's garment industry in the next few years."

Han Lianggen said.

Joining the WTO and liberalized export quota restrictions have made Ningbo's apparel industry happy.

This state has not lasted for a long time, and there has been twists and turns in ten years.

In 2004, the export value of Ningbo garment industry was 5 billion 891 million yuan, half of that of last year, and the first cold wind of Ningbo garment industry was encountered.

"The appreciation of the renminbi and the rise of cotton prices will have a great impact on clothing exports. The export curve of Ningbo's clothing industry is basically proportional to cotton prices, showing the importance of raw materials."

Zhang Xiaofeng explained, "but after a short period of concussion, it will return to its original level immediately. The order will withdraw from China in a short time, but it will come back soon."

But Han Lianggen believes that for Ningbo's clothing industry, "understanding and adapting to specifications is the most important thing."

"Quickly adapt to international standards and produce in accordance with international standards, domestic sales demand for these aspects is simple, even domestic products, many enterprises also produce according to export standards, so as to stand firm."

In his memory, the rigorous inspection of products exported to Japan has always been unforgettable.

"Japan implements the inspection system for Chinese garments. In order to ensure safety, every garment must be tested by infrared ray. If we find a needle left on clothing, we will pay 3 million yen for it."

In 2008, when the second wave of crisis hit, under the influence of the global financial crisis, Ningbo garment enterprises were faced with another severe test.

At the end of the year, the loss of textile and garment enterprises above Designated Size reached 1/4, and enterprises were in a state of panic when they cut production, shut down and shut down.

"The overall price of export garments is rising gradually, but our integration competitiveness is still stronger than that of other countries, and orders will be back after some time.

Southeast Asian countries are gradually putting pressure on labor costs and land costs, which are much lower than in China. Now our strength is mainly due to high efficiency and good matching of industries.

According to statistics from the China Textile Industry Association Statistics Center, the total export volume of textile and clothing in China was 206 billion 500 million US dollars in 2010, an increase of 268.75% compared with 56 billion US dollars in 2000.

China's textile and clothing exports accounted for 32.71% of the global market share, and the proportion increased further.