Improving the Economic Decision-Making Capability and Viability of Chinese Wool Textile Mills

rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Improving the economic decision-making capability and viability of Chinese wool textile mills 1. Overview Shifting international comparative advantage and changing textile trade arrangements have led to declining fortunes and severe adjustments in the United States and European textile industries and have focused attention on the Ch inese textile sector. At the same time, the Chinese textile sector has not been immune from major upheavals and restructuring. In this paper the transition within the Chinese wool textile industry is investigated along with ways of improving the viability of Chinese mills and their ability to efficiently take advantage of emerging opportun ities in world textile markets. Wool textiles account for less than 10 % of the Chinese textile industry (CNTIC, 2003). Nonetheless it is an industry with a long history and with a diverse group of industry participants reliant upon it. Labour and enterprise reforms have shrunk mill workforces, bu