The Race Of The Champions
Jürg Rupp, Executive Editor
Literally, the crash of 2008 wasn't a real surprise. Many experts warned of it long before the
whole house of cards collapsed. Once again, the old saying was true that the whole world depends on
the economy of the United States - or is it Wall Street?
Now, in the first quarter of 2010 - which is, by the way, the year of the Tiger - the world economy in general, and the textile industry in particular, shows signs of revitalization; but this time, the upswing didn't come from the ailing Wall Street - it comes from the Far East. In record time, China has become the top player in the global economy and is the driving force for world markets, including textiles.
And the Chinese textile industry didn't sleep last year: The China National Textile & Apparel Council reports China made an investment of 241.8 billion renminbi in the textile industry between January and December 2009. This is an increase of 7.9 percent over the same period the previous year.
In addition, another weapon was established by Asian countries on their path to the top: A new free trade zone was started in 2010. The free trade area includes some 2 billion people with a market volume of some US$470 billion. After the European Union and the North America Free Trade Agreement areas, this will be the third-biggest free trade zone in the world. The treaty is also a monetary fund. Some US$120 billion is at the disposal of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus three states. This agreement was founded together with the ASEAN states and China, Japan and South Korea, and will replace the current so-called Chiang Mai initiative.
There are a lot of advantages. China and the ASEAN states complement one another in many ways: On the one hand, China has easy access to the other countries. On the other, the existing ASEAN countries can import raw products from China at lower costs to improve their competitiveness.
Hopefully, the world economy will fully recover after being (almost) destroyed by the greed and voracity of bankers and hedge funds. However, it seems the financial industry hasn't learned the lesson. The signs are not very promising: the economy will recover, but bankers are showing the same old attitude again - more bonuses than ever are ready.
January/February/March 2010
Now, in the first quarter of 2010 - which is, by the way, the year of the Tiger - the world economy in general, and the textile industry in particular, shows signs of revitalization; but this time, the upswing didn't come from the ailing Wall Street - it comes from the Far East. In record time, China has become the top player in the global economy and is the driving force for world markets, including textiles.
And the Chinese textile industry didn't sleep last year: The China National Textile & Apparel Council reports China made an investment of 241.8 billion renminbi in the textile industry between January and December 2009. This is an increase of 7.9 percent over the same period the previous year.
In addition, another weapon was established by Asian countries on their path to the top: A new free trade zone was started in 2010. The free trade area includes some 2 billion people with a market volume of some US$470 billion. After the European Union and the North America Free Trade Agreement areas, this will be the third-biggest free trade zone in the world. The treaty is also a monetary fund. Some US$120 billion is at the disposal of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus three states. This agreement was founded together with the ASEAN states and China, Japan and South Korea, and will replace the current so-called Chiang Mai initiative.
There are a lot of advantages. China and the ASEAN states complement one another in many ways: On the one hand, China has easy access to the other countries. On the other, the existing ASEAN countries can import raw products from China at lower costs to improve their competitiveness.
Hopefully, the world economy will fully recover after being (almost) destroyed by the greed and voracity of bankers and hedge funds. However, it seems the financial industry hasn't learned the lesson. The signs are not very promising: the economy will recover, but bankers are showing the same old attitude again - more bonuses than ever are ready.
January/February/March 2010
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冠军之争
基本上，2008年的金融风暴并非突然而来，不少财金专家远在房屋信贷泡沫爆破前已作出预警。事件反映，全球经济仰靠美国鼻息这老掉牙的说法再一次应验─又或说的不是美国，而是华尔街？
踏进2010年首季，虎年登场，全球整体经济现出复苏之势，其中纺织业的走势尤为凌厉；然而，今次复苏的动力，并非来自元气大伤的华尔街，而是源自远东一带。中国跃升为全球经济的领先国，也
是全球市场─包括纺织业在内─发展的火车头。
中国的纺织业去年一点也不沉寂：中国纺织工业协会表示，中国纺织企业于2009年1月至12月期间的总投资达2.418亿较去年同期上升7.9%。
与此同时，亚洲各国亦运用新武器，在业内力争上游：新的自由贸易保护区于2010年开始生效。自由贸易区包罗20亿人口，市场总值达4,700亿美元，是
全球继欧盟及北美自由贸易条约区后的第三大自由贸易区。条约同时亦是一个货币基金，东南亚国家联盟(ASEAN)及另外三个国家，合共为条约注入约1,200亿美元。有关条约由各个东南亚国家联盟成员国，加
上中国、日本及南韩组成，以代替现行的清迈条款。
新措施的优点甚多。中国及东南亚国家联盟成员国于多个环节发挥互保之效，一方面有利中国进军其它国家；另一方面，东南亚国家联盟成员国亦能以低价向中国购入原材料，提高竞争力。
市场预期全球经济将可在银行家及对冲基金的贪婪及几近蹂躏后，全面复苏。不过，看来金融业并未受到教训，当中迹象并不太乐观：经济行将复苏，但银行家却摆出老姿态─业内已备妥较前更高的奖金待派发。