Fashion Promotes Sino-Swiss FriendshipThe colorful dresses on display during last night's Swiss Evening in Beijing were like splendid flowers growing from the exuberant tree of Sino-Swiss friendship, said Han Enye, vice chairman of the China Textile Education Society (CTES).The evening -- the final activity of the fashion design competition -- was a special gift marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Swiss diplomatic relations. The event was jointly held by the Swiss Textile Machinery Association, CTES and China Textile International Exchange Center, according to Thursday's Chinadaily. Switzerland, which boasts the world's most advanced textile machinery, has been a major provider of textile technologies and machinery to China, Han said. At the beginning of the new century both sides are eager to enhance their co-operation. He believed the works of the night were a good representation of the level of today's Chinese fashion designers, and had successfully convinced the world of their talents. Han's Swiss counterpart, Heinz Bachmann, chairman of the Swiss Textile Machinery Association, said the competition and the on-going China International Textile Machinery Exhibition (CITME 2000) in Beijing, have provided a good opportunity for the two countries to strengthen their co-operation in the textile field. Besides organizing the fashion competition, Switzerland sent a large delegation of some 20 leading textile machinery manufacturers to CITEM 2000, bringing a wealth of up-to-date textile technologies. China and Switzerland have a long history of co-operation in the field of textile, the paper said. Most Swiss textile professionals have realized that they have underestimated the development of China and Asia as a whole, and that there is still room for further co-operation, said Heinz Bachmann. A total of five fashion and textile institutes, one from Switzerland, participated in the competition. The institutes are Beijing Garment Institute, Art Institute of Qinghua University, Garment Institute of Donghua University, and the Swiss Textile College. |
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