Xinjiang most popular destination for investors in textile industry

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region now has more than 1,800 textile factories and investment in the region’s textile industry has reached 47.9 billion yuan last year, an increase of 51 percent compared with 2015, according to data released by the regional statistics bureau. Xinjiang textile industry is become the most popular destination for investors.

Most of the cotton yarn produced in the region is transported to eastern China, the country’s traditional textile center, to be processed into cloth and clothes before it is exported by sea.

A regional trade official said that the region plans to attract more labor-intensive businesses with preferential policies to create job opportunities for locals.

Yin Xiaodong, director of the regional textile industry management office said that an average of two new textile factories was set up in Xinjiang every day last year and they expect to see more this year.

With preferential policies, including lower raw cotton prices, cheaper electricity rates and transportation subsidies, every metric ton of cotton yarn produced in Xinjiang can save manufacturers 3,600 yuan ($520) compared with eastern China where the textile industry traditionally flourished, Yin said.

The region expects textile manufacturers to create 100,000 more jobs this year, according to Yin. A total of 112,300 workers were recruited to the region’s textile sector last year, accounting for more than 50 percent of new industrial jobs.

In 2014, the central government began providing support for the textile and garment industry in Xinjiang, which produces about 60 percent of China’s raw cotton, in the hope of boosting employment opportunities for locals.

Yin estimates that investment in the industry in the past three years has exceeded 90 billion yuan, equivalent to the total investment between 1978 and 2013.