China Sri Lanka Textile Industry Cooperation Memorandum Signed Online

On January 20, Xu Yingxin, vice president of China Textile Industry Federation, and Mr. a Sukumaran, President of Sri Lanka clothing association forum, signed the memorandum of cooperation online on behalf of their respective associations. Sri Lanka ambassador to China Dr. Palitha Kohona witnessed the signing ceremony.

The meeting was presided over by Mr. Alexi gunasekera, Minister of Sri Lanka Embassy in China. Yuan Hongping, Deputy Secretary General of China Textile Industry Federation, Mr. Ananda dharmapriya, director of Commerce Department of Sri Lanka Ministry of trade, and MS. chitranjali disanayake, Secretary General of Sri Lanka Export Development Bureau, attended the meeting.

In his speech, vice president Xu Yingxin first introduced the development status of China's textile industry, the economic operation of China's textile industry in 2020, as well as the trade and investment of China and Sri Lanka's textile industry. In 2020, due to the impact of the epidemic situation, the production of industrial textiles, especially non-woven products, will increase significantly due to the surge in demand. With the promotion of the resumption of work and production in all walks of life, China's macro-economy has steadily improved and the consumer market has continued to warm up. In 2020, the total export volume of China's textiles and clothing will reach 291.22 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. The textile and garment trade between China and Sri Lanka shows a small growth trend in recent three years. In 2019, the total trade volume of textiles and clothing between the two countries will be 1.24 billion US dollars.

President Xu also mentioned that CFA has been implementing the belt and road initiative and has been committed to helping Chinese textile and garment enterprises expand trade, investment and exchanges with other countries in the world for many years. Sri Lanka has a number of high-quality garment export processing enterprises with international operation. It is hoped that China Textile Federation and Sri Lanka garment association forum can jointly promote the upstream and downstream cooperation of the two countries' industries, strengthen mutual visits, promote the exchange and mutual trust of industry personnel, and jointly hold various forms of trade activities to promote the common development of the two countries' industries.

In his speech, Mr. a Sukumaran, President of the forum of Sri Lanka garment association, mentioned that the association is an important organization in Sri Lanka's textile and garment industry and maintains close communication and contact with government departments. The textile and garment industry is an important pillar industry in Sri Lanka. Its export accounts for 47% of the total commodity export of Sri Lanka, and there are about 350000 employees at present. The export products of the industry are mainly sportswear, casual wear and knitted apparel, mainly in the European and American markets. In 2019, the total export volume of Sri Lanka's textile and clothing is 5.6 billion US dollars. Due to the impact of the epidemic situation in 2020, the output and export of Sri Lanka's textile and garment industry will decline in a certain proportion, and it is expected to recover and rebound in 2022. When talking about the cooperation with China Textile Federation, the chairman believed that the signing of the MOU will promote trade cooperation between member enterprises of both sides and bring more investment opportunities. There are many large-scale high-quality garment processing enterprises in Sri Lanka, and most of their fabrics are imported from China. At present, Sri Lanka government has invested heavily in the construction of fabric Industrial Park, and gradually improved the industrial structure of textile and clothing industry.

The new Sri Lankan ambassador to China, Dr. Palitha Kohona, arrived in Beijing in mid December 2020. The experience of 19 visits to China has made Mr. Ambassador familiar with and cordial to China. The ambassador mentioned that it is a great honor to personally witness the signing ceremony of the online cooperation memorandum between China and Sri Lanka's leading textile and garment industry associations. China has a huge and potential consumer market, which will become the next key market of Sri Lanka's textile and garment industry. Sri Lanka is an important node on the maritime Silk Road. With its unique geographical advantages and constantly improved infrastructure, Sri Lanka has become a hot investment destination. The ambassador stressed that the fabric Industrial Park supported by government policies and budget would welcome Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in the park, hoping to bring new opportunities for the internationalization of Chinese fabric enterprises. Sri Lanka clothing association forum, China Textile Federation and Sri Lanka Embassy in China will work together to promote the healthy development of industries in the two countries.

The signing of the memorandum of cooperation is a new starting point for deepening cooperation between the textile and garment industries of the two countries. It is hoped that the two sides can realize the co negotiation, co construction and sharing of China Sri Lanka textile and garment industry in the future under the strategic framework of "one belt and one Road".