Cong Zheng
Vice-Secretary General Director China Textile Machinery Association
Exports from China are growing
The China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) is a social-economic organisation constituted voluntarily by the manufacturers, enterprises and scientific research institutes in the textiles machinery and accessories industry of China. Cong Zheng, vice-secretary general director tells us about the use of hi-tech technologies in the Chinese knitting sector and its display at ITMA Barcelona to be held from June 20-26, 2019.
How has the ITMA ASIA exhibition evolved over the years?
The first edition was held in 2008, and this is the sixth edition. The first edition was held in Singapore after which the show shifted to Shanghai. The earlier location was smaller; so, we moved to this location. In 2016, there were six halls, and today we have seven.
Tell us more about CTMA.
CTMA has 600 members who are manufacturers of textile machinery and spare parts. We have also membership of foreign companies who have set up offices and factories in China.
How are exports growing in the Chinese textile machinery industry?
Exports from the Chinese textile industry are growing. Earlier, textile machinery import figures were larger than exports, but since 2012, exports have overtaken imports. For example, in knitting, in the past, there were several European knitting machinery companies exhibiting at ITMA Asia, which has now come down. But now in China, there are more than 100 knitting machine producers. These companies are now selling hi-tech technologies in knitting.
Are most of these companies exporting or just serving the domestic market?
About 15-20 per cent of the textile machineries produced in China is exported. There are some companies which export around 50 per cent of their production.
Is Chinese technology at par with European technology?
Few producers are manufacturing machineries at par with European quality. The rest have a long way to go. When compared with Indian or Turkish machinery makers, the top Chinese companies supply comparable machinery.
How competitive is the Chinese textile machinery sector in terms of price?
The Chinese textile industry offers textile machinery at the most competitive prices. I have visited India several times and have met companies who have expressed interest in Chinese textile machinery, because the price is very competitive. For example, a knitting machine offered by European companies is double the price supplied by Chinese companies of nearly the same technology. The European companies have been in business for several decades, but Chinese companies are trying to catch up. For instance, there are a lot of innovations happening in the Chinese nonwovens machinery sector. (RR)
Published on: 06/11/2018
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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