Myths and realities of China’s apparel industry – from a global value chain perspective

TAN Liwen (谭力文)1, MA Haiyan (马海燕)2 and LIU Linqing (刘林青)3
1 Professor, Director of Institute of Corporate Strategic Management, Wuhan University
2 Doctorate Candidate of Institute of Corporate Strategic Management, Wuhan University
3 Associate Professor, Institute of Corporate Strategic Management, Wuhan University
Editorial Note:

As a major apparel exporter, China enjoys significant export and market shares by virtue
of price advantage. But the seemingly strong international competitiveness of its apparel industry is superficial.
The international financial crisis has dealt a heavy blow to the exports of China’s apparel firms, many of which
have gone bankrupt. This setback triggers our reflections on the competitive strength of China’s apparel industry.
Using the global value chain theory, this article examines the international competitiveness of China’s apparel
industry from the micro level of enterprises, and presents an empirical analysis using Nike as a case study.

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