China’s textile industry under the weather  

今年中國紡織業經濟增速將繼續回落

在內需市場支撐下，今年全年中國紡織行業的主要產銷指標仍將實現增長。但在國際市場需求難以明顯好轉、國內生產成本持續上漲以及市場競爭日趨激烈的情況下，預計紡織行業出口壓力仍然突出，將帶動行業產銷增速進一步回落。

Beijing (CNS) -- Shrinking foreign demand is adversely affecting China's textile industry, Sun Huaibin, spokesman for the China National Textile and Apparel Council, said Thursday.

Sun cited statistics showing that in the first half of this year, the EU's textile and apparel imports decreased 6.9 percent year-on-year, while the US had zero growth. Japanese imports experienced only a slight growth of 2.2 percent.

Domestic cotton prices remain higher than in the global market, and the price gap continues to enlarge, added Sun. The rising cost of materials is another key contributor to the industry's sluggish growth, he said.