On June 29th, 2022, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on jointly promoting sustainability in the textile and garment industry in Asia and Africa in the context of the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) in Beijing.
CNTAC is a long-term cooperation partner with GIZ on sustainability topics in the textile sector through the project Promoting Sustainability Standards in the Textile and Garment Industry in Asia (FABRIC) and its predecessors. Since 2009, the two parties have supported the development and implementation of sustainability guidelines; developed the first inter-Asian “STAR network” (Sustainable Textile in the Asian Region) in cooperation with producing associations from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Pakistan; jointly organized regional conferences on Sustainable Production in the Textile and Garment Industry with support from local Chinese government; and co-conducted surveys and pilot trainings for Chinese investors in South Asian countries.
In the framework of the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development, in 2020, CNTAC and GIZ jointly prepared and launched a triangular cooperation project between China, Germany, and Ethiopia in cooperation with the Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). The project aims at improving the environmental, social and labour standard of Ethiopia’s textile sector through capacity development and awareness raising for Chinese investors/factory managers and their local business partners with a scaling-up potential and replication in other countries in Africa and Asia.
The signed MoU formalizes the partnership between GIZ and CNTAC on institutional level and sets out the purpose and main areas for future cooperation between the two organizations. In addition to joint activities through the FABRIC project and the triangular cooperation project in Ethiopia, the MoU identifies additional topics of mutual interests, including supporting the Sino-German political dialogue on development cooperation, collaboration with Chinese textile industry clusters/ industrial parks, study exchanges and field trips between Africa and China, and cooperation through public-private development partnership projects. Gender equality, environmental protection and climate change are among the prioritized topics.
Mr. Dapeng Chen, CNTAC Vice President, Mr. Thorsten Giehler, GIZ China Country Director, and Dr. Jochen Weikert, Co-head of China in the World Cluster in GIZ signed the MoU on behalf of CNTAC and GIZ respectively.
