Belt and Road participants begin textiles seminar in Shanghai

Thirty-five enterprise managers, engineers and university teachers from 14 countries started their three-week seminar on international cooperation among the textile industry in Shanghai on Friday.

During the seminar, organized by Donghua University and the Orient International (Holding) Co, the attendees will learn about China’s economic, societal and cultural development since it introduced the reform and opening-up policy 40 years ago, as well as its frontiers in the field, ranging from technology to modern fashion.

They will also visit enterprises to learn about the development of the textile industry in China.

Roohollah Bagherzadeh, a university professor from Iran, said his country, as an important stop on the ancient Silk Road, has a long history of trade with China, and he hopes he can make contributions to future cooperation between the two countries after the seminar.

The university and the company, well-known for textile education and research in China, have been active in promoting international cooperation in the textile industries of Belt and Road countries.

They set up an educational training center in Ethiopia in September last year to help African countries train local textile talent and provide technological support.

Donghua organized the first Textile and Fashion Education World Conference in December. 

At the conference, 33 colleges from 19 countries, all participants of the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly set up an alliance to promote cultural communication and cooperation in textile and fashion education, scientific and technological innovation, and the establishment of think tanks.