China has plenty left in the tank

By: Joe Ayling - 26 July 2010 13:43

China, the world's leading manufacturing nation, featured heavily in last week's news for mixed reasons.

The week began with news of an EU agency probe into clothing imports from the country during 2005 that were wrongly labelled to sidestep temporary duties.

In more recent years, of course, China has matured into a thriving retail market, underlined once again by Japanese apparel maker Renown's plans to open at least 2,000 shops there over the next decade.

Latest figures show that China's GDP growth cooled off in the second quarter, although the 10.3% rise is still enviable for many struggling Western economies.

Indeed, firms like Nike, Burberry and Gucci are leaning against the Chinese to withstand stagnation in other markets.

In sourcing, latest opinion on just-style suggests that although rising wages, labour shortages and currency appreciation are all issues facing Chinese manufacturers, they are not unique to the country.

Furthermore, many of China's more established fashion suppliers now have a wide network of sourcing markets on their books to spread the risk.

As demand from the huge US consumer market gradually returns, China looks poised to cash in, but its manufacturing dominance has resulted in new issues and a brighter spotlight.