Tianjin’s Influence in China Continues to Expand

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Mike McCue|24 May 2011

In the cotton universe, no country draws more interest than China. As the world’s largest cotton producer, consumer and importer, its influence on the cotton and textile industries is already unparalleled–and still growing.

Tianjin, a coastal city southeast of Beijing, is becoming an increasingly important city in China’s cotton industry. First, some of the city’s major cotton industry players have been especially visible at meetings and industry trade shows. For example, a major Tianjin delegation traveled to the United Arab Emirates to attend the International Cotton Association’s Dubai 2011 event in March. The delegation—which included Yu Juan Bi, CEO of the Tianjin Cotton Exchange Market (TCEM), Xiqin Wang, General Manager and Board Chairman of Tianjin Victory Group Garments Co.; Ashley Tong, General Manager of Corporate Banking at Guangdong Development Bank; and Baoqin Cao, Chairman of Tianjin Cotton Association–met there with Gary Fitzgerald, CEO of Meister Media Worldwide, parent company of Cotton International magazine (see photo below).

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In addition, Tianjin is located in a Free Trade Zone, a special area that is “within China’s territory but outside Chinese customs,” Yu Juan says. In March, TCEM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Uzbek Trading Company, part of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade.

The two companies plan to create a joint venture for spot sales of Uzbek cotton through Tianjin’s Free Trade Zone. It is expected that China will buy up to 100,000 tons of Uzbek cotton lint through TCEM each year.

TCEM provides domestic market participants with information consultation, quality inspection, customs clearance, cargo storage, logistics and financial assistance. It has shortened the international cotton purchasing period from three months to three days, which has made the sophisticated international cotton purchase process a simplified, direct and convenient spot trade.

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TCEM was founded in 2004 with Joyfair Holding Corp. as the primary owner (55 percent of shares). Joyfair has integrated multiple divisions, including TCEM, to create a multi-industry corporation with the textile industry at the core.
 

To read more cotton news, visit the Cotton International website.

McCue is the editor for Cotton International magazine. A 20-year veteran of the national trade press, he joined CI in 2010. During his career, he has won a variety of editorial awards for covering industries such as food and drug packaging, the U.S. healthcare system, and sales and marketing management. See all author stories here.

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