China gets its second ‘Shoe Capital’
Jinjiang city of Fujian province has been honoured with the title of "Shoe Capital of China" in a joint award by the Chinese Leather & Footwear Industry Institute, the Chinese Information Centre of Shoe-making Industry and two other authoritative national units.
It is the second city to be given the award after Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Whereas production in Wenzhou is focused on casual and formal footwear, Jinjiang’s main output is sports shoes.
In recent years, shoe-making enterprises in Jinjiang city have largely ended their dependence on foreign agents in order to tap into export markets and many now deal direct with overseas customers, making use of international shoe fairs held in Germany, America, Italy etc. Several producers have also experienced considerable success in setting up their own business agencies abroad.
Located in the southeast of Fujian province, Jinjiang was given the award on the basis of its steadily improving product quality, and the role it has played in opening up the domestic and international markets to Chinese-produced footwear. Last year, the city exported 300 million pairs worth $ 15 billion, 40% of which were exported.
