China will hold an international textile machinery exhibition in Shanghai next July, which is a combination of the ITMA (International Exhibition of Textile Machinery) ASIA + CITME (China International Textile Machinery Exhibition).

The exhibition, first of its kind, is scheduled to be held from July 27 to 31, 2008, according to the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC).

ITMA is the world's largest international textile machinery exhibition, which is owned by the CEMATEX (Comit Europen des Constructeurs de Machines Textiles), an organization comprising nine national European textile machinery associations from Belgium, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, UK and Netherlands.

As China makes up one third of the world's total textile production capacity and is a major textile machinery importer, the CEMATEX chose China to hold next year's ITMA ASIA, said Edward Roberts, CEMATEX president.

The last ITMA ASIA was held in Singapore in October 2005.

From January to March, China's import of textile machinery surged 30 percent to reach US$1.1 billion and import rose 33 percent to US$360 million, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.

To date, the organizer has received bookings from more than 800 manufacturers from 20 countries and regions, including CEMATEX member countries, Egypt, Hong Kong and the United States. Total exhibition area is expected to cover 120,000 square meters.

The exhibition is sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the China Textile Machinery Association, the CIEC and the CEMATEX.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)