Taiwan designers to hold fashion fair in Beijing

Taipei - Taiwan will hold a two-day fashion fair in China's capital Beijing this week to promote Taiwanese textile products, the Taiwan Textile Federation said Wednesday. The fashion fair, the third since 2006, was scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing. Thirteen Taiwan manufacturers and designers will set up booths and hold two shows to unveil 2009 spring/summer wear and accessories, the federation said in a statement. A total of 149 Chinese garment manufacturers and designers and 50 clothing retailers will attend the fair to discuss cooperation with their Taiwanese counterparts and place orders. The Taiwan Textile Federation said the fashion fair was in line with the expanding cross-strait exchanges between the two countries. Taiwan and China resumed direct flights, shipping and postal links on Monday, ending a six-decade ban on direct communuication which began after the communist victory in the Chinese civil war in 1949. 'China has a quarter of the world population. China has announced a four-trillion renminbi (450-billion dollar) stimulus measure for 2010 aimed at boosting consumer spending,' the federation said. 'The Taiwan textile sector hopes that the fair can introduce Taiwan's brands to China, promote exchange and cooperation, and create business opportunities for both sides.' Despite political rivalry between the two countries, Taiwan-China trade has grown strongly since Taipei allowed indirect trade with China in 1987. In the first 11 months of 2008, cross-strait trade totalled 126.2 billion dollars, up 7.1 per cent from the previous year, according to the Taiwan Economics Ministry. By the end of October, Taiwan's accumulated investment in China had hit 74 billion dollars, with some 500,000 Taiwanese investors living in China.