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" Doing Business in China"

George Hodge and Nancy Cassill
Textile and Apparel Management

Welcome to this JTATM issue, “Doing Business in China.” With the anticipated elimination of quotas January 1, 2005, the global business dynamics will provide an interesting marketplace --- both for consumption and production of textile products! Included in this issue are articles related to business strategies, including niche market strategies; market dynamics and opportunities, and creative textile product innovations.

May 2004, six NCSU College of Textiles’ faculty members visited Hong Kong and Shanghai, China to learn more about these global business dynamics. During this “fact finding” trip, the group was able to talk with global textile and apparel companies (including some of our North Carolina companies), sourcing and trading organizations, university personnel, and government officials. We were interested in learning the “latest” to share in our classrooms, research programs, and our work with industry and government.

We visted Hong Kong Polytechnic University where we toured their facilities seeing examples of research in textile technology and the development of new products. We shared ideas and concerns in teaching textiles in the rapidly changing industry

We also hosted a reception at the Kowloon Hyatt Regency Hotel for textile executives and NCSU alumni. Mr. William Chu (far left) with the State of North Carolina Department of Commerce in Hong Kong coordinated the event. Dr. Robert Barnhard, currently Interium Chancellor at NCSU (far right) welcomed everyone.

The NCSU team went on the Shanghai to attend the 83rd International Textile Institute Conference. While in Shanghi we toured Dong Hua University where our hosts treated us to a wonderful banquet. We visited with faculty in the textile design and textile engineering programs. We also had an opportunity to tour this dynamic city and learn more about the rich history of textiles in China. We hope that the many friends we made in China will be able to attend the Textile Institute conference to be held here in North Carolina in March 2005.

Our programs in the College of Textiles continue to provide many opportunities for students... including internship opportunities, conference attendance, and research projects. Be sure to note information about two undergraduate programs (Textile and Apparel Management; Textile Technology)!

We are excited to announce an Executive-in-Residence program which will begin January 2005. Through the generous support of Omnova Solutions, this program will provide a forum for NCSU College of Textiles’ Textile and Apparel Management students and faculty to interface with global industry and government executives.

We hope that you enjoy this issue of The Journal of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management and invite you to share this issue with others!