Wang Zhanglin retired from Xi'an No.1 Textile Factory two decades ago and lives on a monthly pension over 500 yuan (about 60 US dollars). But when his son retired recently from the same factory, the son got a monthly pension justa little more than 400 yuan (about 48 US dollars).

"The state-owned textile industries are still in a hard time," the retiree sighed.

In the 1990s, China's state-owned textile factories met their Waterloo, when the government moved to cut the size of the badly-operating textile industry, forcing these companies to reduce their capacity by relocating equipment to underdeveloped areas andlaying off workers.

Lots of state-owned textile mills diminished at the time. To many people, the prospects of China's textile sector seemed gloomy.

In the meantime, however, private business people were putting their feet into this business in large scale, through introducing advanced technology and equipment. Over a short period of time, China's textile sector has been transformed and upgraded swiftly, with the private sector playing the dominant role and the government supporting the process in substantial ways.

Wang Qiming, president of Haitian Textile Group, founded the company in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 10 years ago, focusing on the study and production of soft and dry fabrics. Now Haitian has become a leader in this field, with international giant El Du Pont as its partner.

Wuxi Natural Textile Industrial Company Ltd., which is located in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, is another success story. Founded in 1995, this private company has become the world leader in the manufacturing of mercerized cotton yarn. "We only want to do the best," said Zhu Guomin, the president of the company.

The booming textile production has also provided opportunities to the machinery sector. Zhu Peng, president of Marzoli (Dongtai) Textile Machinery C., Ltd., made a rare, bold action in 2000, whenhe set up a joint venture with Marzoli of Italy, the world leader in the manufacturing of spinning machines. Zhu owns 45 percent of the stocks, while Marzoli holds 55 percent.

"At that time, it was impossible for foreign partners to hold more than 50 percent of stocks in a joint venture with a state-owned factory, but for a private company, we can do everything to secure a successful cooperation," Zhu noted.

Marzoli (Dongtai) is a great success. Zhu has a big say in the joint venture and the Italian partner is thinking to help his business expand out of China, according to the private entrepreneur.

Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, east China, is known for its small commodities, but it is also one of the largest production centers of fabrics. The city has 285 big textile companies with total annual sales of 6.7 billion yuan (about 807 million US dollars). The majority of these firms are private ones.

The revival of the textile industry has helped ease the pressure of employment and the problem of excessive laborers in the countryside as some 18 million Chinese, mostly from rural areas, are working in textile factories.

In 2003, China produced 18 million tons of fabrics, about 30 percent of the world's total. Meanwhile, the country's fabrics andgarments exports topped 80.4 billion US dollars, or 17 percent of the world's total.

In the first quarter of this year, China reported a deficit of 8.44 billion US dollars in foreign trade, 7.42 billion US dollars more than that of the same period of last year. However, at the same time, the country's fabrics and garments exports made a surplus of 15.65 billion US dollars, a 29 percent rise over the figure of the same period of last year.

Source: Xinhua