A delegation of 84 Italian companies are in Beijing attending the ongoing CHIC 2006 and InterTextile 2006, to present clothes and fabric to the world's largest textile manufacturing nation.
CHIC 2006 targets the domestic and overseas fashion industry and kicked off yesterday with 22 Italian menswear companies showing their latest products in the 760-square-metre exhibition area.
Twenty womenswear providers are displaying their goods in an exhibition area of 570 square metres.
Exhibits cover woven, knitted, leather and fur garments as well as accessories.
The delegation also includes 42 fabric companies, showing their products at another fair, InterTextile 2006. It has an exhibition area of 700 square metres.
"The Italian delegation is one of the largest foreign delegations in both fairs. It shows that Italian textile manufacturers are very interested in the Chinese market and also in the possibilities of future co-operation with Chinese partners," said Antonino Laspina, trade commissioner of the Italian Trade Commission Beijing office. He said that for years, Italian garments, with their fashionable designs, high quality materials and fine workmanship, have enjoyed a high reputation around the world.
Now there are an increasing number of customers in China who want clothes of good quality and are interested in brand histories.
More and more Italian companies are focusing on trade and production co-operation with Chinese firms, he added, and a growing number of joint ventures are taking advantage of the favourable Chinese economic situation.
Many Italian brands have opened shops in China, and many have factories in Chinese cities such as Wenzhou and Ningbo, he said.
"Italy has a complete and advanced production line for garments, from fabric production, to designing, production and processing. There are many areas where Chinese enterprises and Italian companies can co-operate," Laspina said.
Statistics from the Chinese General Administration of Customs indicate that the import value of made-in-Italy garments reached US$118 million last year, up by 34 per cent year-on-year. Among clothes imported from Italy, woven garments accounted for 60 per cent, and knitted ones for the remaining 40 per cent. Of these garments, woven suits for men were the most popular items to be imported in terms of volume, followed by T-shirts and sweaters for women.
