Global: China, Pakistan to strengthen co-operation in cotton textile industry

According to Pakistan government data, the textile industry contributes nearly 60% to the country's total exports. As one of Pakistan's main apparel products exported to the world, denim occupies a pivotal position in its apparel industry chain. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data shows that Pakistan’s denim exports reached Rs 96.92 billion during 2017-18, which is a commendable performance of the denim industry.

 

However, whether it is denim or other apparel products, the recent impact of global cotton prices and other factors cannot be ignored. Pakistani industrialists believe the country's textile and apparel industry faces a series of challenges, including low cotton production and difficulty in obtaining financing for new facilities.

 

The cooperation between China and Pakistan in the cotton industry can be traced back to the 1960s and is an important aspect of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. At present, cooperation between China and Pakistan in the field of cotton mainly includes the following aspects:

 

1. Cotton trade: Pakistan is the fifth largest cotton producer in the world and one of the largest exporters of cotton textiles in the world. China is the world's largest textile producer and consumer and has a large demand for cotton imports. Therefore, China and Pakistan have an interdependent relationship in terms of cotton trade. Pakistan is one of China's important cotton import source countries, and China is one of Pakistan's main cotton textile import markets.

 

2. Technical cooperation: Cooperation between China and Pakistan in cotton planting and processing technology also shows a trend of deepening. The cotton cooperation project between China and Pakistan involves many aspects such as planting technology, high-efficiency water-saving irrigation technology, and aphid control technology. At the same time, Chinese companies have invested in and built multiple cotton textile production bases in Pakistan and transferred some advanced processing technologies to Pakistan.

 

3. Exchange and cooperation: In addition to technical cooperation, China and Pakistan also have extensive exchanges and cooperation in the cotton industry. The two countries hold cotton trade fairs, international cotton summit forums and other activities all year round to build a platform for exchanges and interactions between enterprises from both sides.

 

It should be pointed out that China and Pakistan also face some challenges in cotton cooperation. For example, Pakistan's cotton production and quality still need to be improved, while China is too dependent on the cotton field and is highly sensitive to price changes and market fluctuations. Therefore, China and Pakistan need to further strengthen cooperation to promote the sustainable development of the cotton industry and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.