China's Textile Industry Succeeds in Reducing LossesChina's textile and garment industry has made progress in cutting losses and reducing the number of spindles and employees through restructuring over the past two years.By the end of last year, the industry had cut down its production capacity by scraping 9.06 million outmoded spindles and laying off 1.16 million employees, ending a five-year streak of operating in the red with a net profit of 800 million yuan in 1999. The industry also reported 43.1 billion U.S. dollars in export earnings last year, according to the latest issue of Beijing Review. Chinese textile and garment exports now account for 13 percent of the world's total and 23 percent of the country's domestic exports. China ranks first in the annual production capacity of cotton textiles, woolen fabrics and chemical fiber garments, processing one-fourth of the worldwide fiber output each year. This year, the textile industry will focus on developing the market in western China. The industry has advantages in labor and material resources and manufacturing facilities in competition with foreign counterparts, and it is particularly so after the industry has kept improving its export product mix for higher added value, and reformed the management and enterprise operational system over the past few years. But it lags behind in management and design capability, drawbacks that will withhold the industry's development after China's expected entry to the World Trade Organization. |
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