Ten Years After WTO Entry: The Textile Industry In Nanjing

"On the eve of new year's day in 2005, I was very impressed.

At that time, many people felt as if they were standing in front of a sluice and waiting for the opening of the gate, which was coming from all over the world, from orders and customers from all over the world. "

Deputy general manager, trade management department, Jiangsu Hui Hong International Group.

In January 1, 2005, European and American countries abolished quotas on textiles and clothing in China.

"China's accession to the WTO in 2001 and the total abolition of quotas in 2005 have also reduced the restrictions on exports of textile and garment enterprises.

In those years, almost all of my peers knew that the abolition of quotas meant unlimited business opportunities, surging orders and blowout sales. "

Gu Xin recalls the dramatic climax of his career and can not help but agitate.

At that time, many people were ready to work hard.

Foreign trade people's dinner tables, private public occasions are frequently talked about the abolition of quotas, lower qualification requirements, the registered capital relief.

In order to seize the biggest "red envelope" after the entry into WTO, many foreign trade managers working in state-owned enterprises and holding overseas market information and customer resources are secretly planning to invest in their own textile and garment factories.

Zhou Xuesong, the former colleague of Gu Xin, started his own business on the way of "joining the WTO".

In 2002, Zhou Xuesong, who was in the prime of life, looked at the environment of textile trade after China's accession to the WTO. After years of business plan, he resolutely left the Limited by Share Ltd of the Jiangsu silk import and Export Group, and established his own Nanjing Germany trade limited company.

In his colleague's eyes, he had a unique vision and courage. He left his tranquil and comfortable state-owned lair and drove his "small boat" to become a member of the first "chao chao" after China's accession to the WTO.

"After 2001, the import and export trade has been liberalized, and the requirement for registered capital of foreign trade enterprises has dropped from 5 million to 500 thousand."

A ten fold fall is the biggest obstacle to those who want to start their own business.

The great opportunities and bright prospects brought by the accession to the WTO have inspired the ambition of countless "Zhou Xuesong".

"In fact, the abolition of quotas did not lead to orders everywhere.

The consumption of garments and textiles in Europe and the United States has not increased sharply due to the cancellation of quotas and price reductions.

"Cake" is still so large, "sub cake" hands more and more.

The big comprador such as Gu Xin suddenly discovered that many private enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises that were not very good at that time suddenly stood on the same "starting line" with themselves.

The national quota and qualification requirements have been abolished, and the textile industry is almost equal to the zero threshold.

Overnight, large and small companies of textile import and export business emerged, and they quickly grabbed market share at lower prices and more flexible adaptability to market demand.

The "big aircraft carrier" of state-owned enterprises appears to be "difficult to make a U-turn". In order to regain the situation, it faces the pains of innovation and reorganization.

And Zhou Xuesong's business is in the "ups and downs" of the domestic and international environment.

At first, he only wanted to be his own old company. The company took orders for factory orders. With the increasing momentum of textile and clothing trade 05 years later, Zhou Xuesong bought a garment factory on his own to buy his own business and expand the scale of the business. But 09 years later, the cost of raw materials has risen sharply in the coastal areas of China, and the garment factory is difficult to continue in Jiangsu.

Seeing a large number of enterprises moving their garment factories to the interior, Zhou Xuesong also moved the garment factories that closed Nanjing to fight back to the idea of "only the original".

"China's accession to the WTO has given us more opportunities, but it has also brought more competition and risks."

Looking back ten years, Zhou Xuesong and Gu Xin Du were filled with emotion.

As a colleague, they are full of confidence and determination in China's textile and garment trade, hoping to make this long and effortless road more and more stable.