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Foreign trade depends on more than 80% Shaoxing Keqiao: how is the order?

Just across the Great Barrier of resumption of work and production, foreign epidemics suddenly broke out again. With foreign trade dependence of more than 80%, Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, is building an "international textile capital". How to resolve the crisis under the pressure of the epidemic?

Foreign trade enterprises export the first cabinet of goods after the Spring Festival this year. Pictures provided by Keqiao Publicity Department

Foreign trade export is one of the "three carriages" of China's economic growth. Keqiao has the largest cloth distribution center in Asia, with textile exports accounting for 91%. In 2019, the export of Keqiao increased by 15.6%, 10.6 percentage points higher than that of China. However, the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak this year has put pressure on the "strong textile region" of foreign trade.

"After the outbreak of the domestic epidemic, the pressure of foreign trade textile enterprises mainly lies in the delay of resumption of work and production, unable to make up the supply side; after the outbreak of the global epidemic, the enterprises also encounter problems such as the cancellation of the exhibition, the postponement or cancellation of orders, etc. at present, the textile enterprises mainly engaged in foreign trade are still confused." Tan Ke, director of Keqiao District Bureau of Commerce, said in an interview that in the first two months of this year, Keqiao's foreign trade exports fell 19.41% year on year.

Will it lead to industrial transfer?

Foreign media reported that the epidemic affected the whole industrial chain in China. After the outbreak, there are also voices beginning to worry that enterprises will accelerate the relocation of factories overseas.

"The impact of the epidemic is mainly due to temporary setbacks or delays in production, and the production capacity of made in China has not been damaged. It cannot be concluded simply because of short-term individual order transfer. " Luan Qun, director of the Institute of policies and regulations, CCID Research Institute, Ministry of industry and information technology, said.

It is undeniable that in recent years, some international brands and local manufacturing enterprises have chosen to build factories in Southeast Asia. This is a diversified layout of enterprises from their own considerations, which cannot be simply understood as a transfer.

In an interview with Phnom Penh Post, Heng sour, spokesman of Cambodia's Ministry of labor and vocational training, said that more than 50 textile factories in Cambodia have applied for suspension of operation, affecting nearly 30000 employees.

PAV Sina, President of the Cambodian workers' movement Union, said the number of factories applying for suspension could be higher due to a lack of raw materials and buyers. The temporary shutdown of the factory caused the workers to face financial difficulties, but guaranteed their health and safety during the outbreak.

At the same time, some experts believe that the manufacturing industry is a system with multiple links crisscross. The complexity of this system determines that it takes a long time to establish a supply chain in a country or region, and once established, it has stickiness. The basis of long-term accumulation of made in China will not be affected by short-term fluctuations.

For every four swimsuits sold in the world, one swimsuit is produced in Xingcheng, Liaoning Province. In Shaogang Town, Henan Province, more than half of the world's steel tape measures are produced. Haining, the land of leather, and the Tang Dynasty, the international sock capital In China's economic territory, there are many seemingly "humble" manufacturing towns, which, as nodes in the supply chain system, jointly support the "made in China".

China is an important part of the global production system and the center of many global supply chains. It may not be difficult to turn a factory away, but it is not easy to turn an ecosystem away.

A number of heads of large manufacturing enterprises said that there is still a large gap between Southeast Asia and China in terms of supply chain matching, production coordination and efficiency. Although the epidemic will have an impact, other countries and regions will not have the ability to undertake the manufacturing ecology.

In addition, China is also the largest consumer of many commodities. The demand of the market will breed more vitality.

What are the implications of the epidemic?

An epidemic is like a big test. After experiencing pressure and challenges, made in China is also reflecting.

The security of supply chain is very important. With the deepening of the international division of labor and the expansion of the global supply chain system, whether the supply chain is in a dominant position is an important indicator to measure a country's competitiveness.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, many domestic garment, electronic and automobile enterprises have been able to rapidly switch to production of masks, relying on a stable and flexible supply chain. In the future, a strong supply chain is also needed to better cope with risk challenges and seize opportunities.