Shanghai to Develop High-tech Textiles

In an effort to bring the local textile industry up to international standards, the city plans to launch 77 projects by working with investors from home and abroad.

This is part of the city's strategy to invigorate this traditional industry which was once a key part of the local economy.

Local textile officials said the local textile industry is now at a critical development phase which calls for foreign advanced technology and funds.

"These planned projects will focus on the development of high-tech textiles," said Zhu Kuangyu, chairman of Shanghai Textile Holding (Group) Corporation.

After eight years of restructuring, the industry has laid off 380,000 employees who have found work elsewhere.

Zhu said the city's textile industry has formulated a new strategy aiming to turn into a modern one that can compete with its overseas counterparts.

"Strengthening the economic co-operation and attracting capital from home and abroad are a major way to upgrade the industry," he said.

"The projects will help speed up the city's textile industry to become competitive after China's entry into the World Trade Organization," Zhu said.

Seven projects with a total investment of more than 300 million yuan (US$36.28 million) have been signed with investors from Hong Kong, Germany, Britain, Australia, France and the United States.

Zhu said: "Foreign-invested ventures have become a new economic growth point in the local textile sector."

Over the past 10 years, Shanghai has set up 267 foreign-invested textile enterprises. Now only 169 of them are still in operation due to industrial restructuring.

However, overseas-invested textile enterprises account for 28 per cent of the group's total sales, 22 per cent of its total export and 25 per cent of its profits, he said.

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