Can the Developed Countries Compete with China for Textile Exports? A Country-level Study in the EU market from 2000—2008

Abstract

<p>Although China is well-known as one of the world's most competitive apparel exporters, the competitiveness of China's textile exports compared with those from highwage developed countries is less clearly understood. On one hand, China’s market share in world textile exports has increased from only 10.4% in 2000 to 32.2% in 2011 (WTO, 2012). On the other hand, China’s competiveness in textile exports seems to be uncertain. For example, because textile manufacturing could be very capital-intensive in nature, China may not necessarily enjoy comparative advantage over more capital-abundant developed countries in making and exporting textiles (Dickerson, 1999).</p>