The Belt And Road Conference Of China'S Textile Industry Interprets The Opportunities For Trade And Investment Cooperation In The Textile Industry

　　 As an authoritative professional platform for the international layout of the textile industry and the "belt and road" cooperation, the "belt and road" conference of China's textile industry has achieved fruitful results in promoting the construction of the "belt and road" in the direction of high-quality development since it was held in 2013.

　　 On October 15, 2021 China's textile industry "belt and road" conference was held in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. During the meeting, the heads of government departments and business associations from Kenya and Sri Lanka were specially connected to share the opportunities of trade and investment cooperation in the local textile industry online, which aroused positive reaction from the audience. In an online interview, the two guests expressed their gratitude for the work done by the belt and road conference to help the international cooperation of the textile industry go deeper and more solid, and build a global platform and bridge to help enterprises realize "sustainable trade and investment double cycle".

　　 Kenya

　　 Looking forward to textile industry chain investment

　　 At the meeting, Dr. Moses ikira, director of the Kenyan Investment Bureau, gave a detailed introduction to Kenya's investment environment and supporting policies. Kenya vision 2030 released in Kenya and In the agenda of the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, both manufacturing and agriculture are in a very important position. Because Kenya has a relatively rich and well-educated young labor force, in order to create employment opportunities for these young workers, Kenya has been looking for sectors that can create a lot of employment opportunities, and the textile industry obviously has such advantages. In addition, the textile industry has brought a lot of employment opportunities to women, and it can also promote the cultivation of cotton in the arid areas with high poverty concentration in the country. Even from the annual GDP of Kenya, we can see that the government attaches great importance to the textile industry.

　　 Thanks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Kenya and other eligible sub Saharan African countries can enjoy quota free and tariff-free access to the U.S. market. Kenya is a major exporter of clothing from sub Saharan Africa to the US market, with an annual clothing export of about US $500 million. However, Dr. Moses ikira mentioned that at present, the development of Kenya's textile and garment industry is not balanced. Most investors are concentrated in the clothing sector, resulting in 90% of domestic fabrics and accessories relying on imports. He hopes that investors can pay attention to the whole textile industry chain.

　　 According to Dr. Moshe ikira, most of the export enterprises investing in Kenya are concentrated in Kenya's export processing zone (EPZ), because more preferential measures can be enjoyed here. The investors of these enterprises come from all over the world, including China, Sri Lanka, India, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and other countries and regions, as well as some investors from Kenya. Among them, there are more than 400 enterprises in mainland China, covering investment and operation in all walks of life, including ceramic tile production, baby diapers, construction industry, real estate, restaurants, hotels, etc.

　　 He also introduced that textile enterprises will have many advantages in investing in Kenya

　　 First, a series of value chains can be used to obtain sufficient raw materials, where cotton can be produced, and large quantities of raw materials can be purchased from countries in the region, such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundian, and the scope of procurement can soon be extended to the entire African continent, because Kenya has launched the African continent free trade area (afcfta), A stable raw material supply chain will be established.

　　 Second, transportation is very convenient. Kenya has two ports and many transportation centers, especially a large-scale transportation department.

　　 Third, the labor force is very rich. At present, Kenya has 20 million labor force, and the average labor cost is only about 150 US dollars per month. They are well educated and have strong professional ethics.

　　 The fourth is tax advantage. In addition to the preferential measures of export processing zone, textile industry, as a key industry, is the only one that can enjoy the special preferential tariff of US $0.05 per kWh.

　　 The fifth is market advantage. Kenya has completed negotiations on preferential market access, from East Africa to Angola, to the entire African continent, and then to the European Union, with huge market potential.

　　 Sri Lanka

　　 The export scale of the region is 50 billion US dollars

　　 Sukumaran, chairman of the United clothing association forum of Sri Lanka, introduced the investment environment in Sri Lanka. At present, the export of textile and clothing accounts for 47% of the total export of Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka attaches great importance to the textile and garment industry. As the only industry that can sink to the countryside, the clothing industry can bring more jobs and employment opportunities to the local people. All parties have paid great attention to the clothing industry in Sri Lanka.

　　 At present, most of the fabrics required by Sri Lanka garment industry are imported from China, and the local fabric enterprises can only meet about 20% of the industry demand. Among these enterprises, the larger scale are joint ventures jointly established by Chinese companies and Sri Lanka companies.

　　 Sukumaran introduced that Sri Lanka has a superior geographical location. Investing in fabrics in Sri Lanka is equivalent to investing in South Asia. Clothing exports from the region can reach $50 billion, including exports from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. At present, Sri Lanka government has launched many preferential measures and set up a fabric park. The park will provide all infrastructure except buildings and mechanical equipment, including water treatment, water discharge, etc., without environmental pollution. It can be said that the business convenience of Sri Lanka is the best in the region. In addition, in Sri Lanka, if foreign employees are employed, they are not required to pay personal income tax. For newly established enterprises, they can enjoy an income tax exemption period of up to 10 years.

　　 The textile industry in Sri Lanka is relatively evenly distributed. About 55% - 60% of the fabrics are knitwear, and the rest are woven fabrics, with an average distribution. Other accessories and decorations are mostly imported from China, and there are many development opportunities in this respect.

　　 Sukumaran believes that whether to invest in Sri Lanka depends not only on the environment of Sri Lanka, but also on the whole surrounding region, because there is only one week's voyage from here to Bangladesh and Pakistan, and only three days' flight to India. The total export volume of clothing of the four countries can reach 50 billion US dollars, which contains huge opportunities.

　　 Free trade policy is also one of the reasons why many Chinese ports come here. Sri Lanka is a country with relatively free import and export. Enterprises can also carry out "hub business" here. That is to say, investors can bring in fabrics, store them here, and then transport them to any other country. China is funding the establishment of a port city in Sri Lanka. Any investment made here will benefit the whole region, bringing benefits not only to Sri Lanka but also to other countries.

　　 The recently released "China's belt and road" trade and investment development report 2021 points out that at present, the "belt and road" economic and trade cooperation is going against the trend and is showing strong resilience and vitality. Against the background of global anti epidemic, the belt and road conference of China's textile industry hopes to further strengthen the interaction and exchange between all parties and establish a long-term and effective communication mechanism by building bridges and platforms. In order to cope with the epidemic situation and restore the economy, the belt and road international cooperation can play an important role.