Shoe production shift not all bad news for China
Footwear production in Asian countries other than China continues to grow as brands and manufacturers seek to save costs and diversify their supply chains, but the footwear industry in China continues to benefit.
Manufacturers in countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar are reliant on Chinese suppliers of upper leather, soling materials, fastenings and other components.
For the first six months of this year, customs authorities in the Chinese province of Fujian, a leather and footwear stronghold, have reported exports of footwear materials to Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia with a value of around $380 million.
This represents an increase of 40% year on year.
In a recent report, Chinese media quoted Tu Xinquan from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing as saying: “While some processing trade is shifting from China to certain member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China’s exports of intermediate products are soaring at a notable pace.”
He said this was in line with industrial transformation trends.
