The China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with OECD to intensify co-operation and promote responsible business practices in global textile and apparel supply chains. This deal was struck at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector in Paris.

The agreement forms part of a broader framework of co-operation between the People’s Republic of China and the OECD on responsible business conduct, and has been described as a direct outcome of the China-OECD Joint Programme of Work from 2015-16.

The work conducted by the newly formalised partnership will seek to contribute to the aims of the Chinese Center for Responsible Business and Sustainable Development, of which CNTAC is a founding member.

Chen Dapeng, vice president of CNTAC, said that the expertise and network of OECD in promoting and implementing responsible business conduct globally are of tremendous value for CNTAC, which has been playing a leading role in global textile and garment production as well as in China's social responsibility arena. This is also the reason for CNTAC to try its best in the past decade to shape a fair and responsible global textile and garment supply chain.

Mathilde Mesnard, OECD deputy director of Financial and Enterprise Affairs, stated that CNTAC has been one of their original and key strategic partners for work on responsible business conduct in China.

This collaboration, in the coming years will have the opportunity to co-operate on the development of a Chinese-owned due diligence guidance for the textile and apparel supply chain that is aligned with OECD guidance but adapted to the Chinese context.

By signing this MOU they are taking their relationship to a higher level to promote the implementation of responsible business conduct in global textile and apparel supply chains.