Pakistan’s exports of men’s apparel to China increased by more than 17 per cent in the first ten months of 2022 as compared with the same period in 2021.

As for the major factors behind the increasing export of men’s clothing to China, Pakistan is a major producer of cotton crops, and it is cheaper as compared to China so it has a benefit over China. Also Pakistan has cheap labor compared to China which is cost-effective for men’s apparel exports to China.

In January 2020, Pakistan and China entered into the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement under which China has eliminated tariffs on 313 priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export and out of the 313 high-priority products that Pakistan can now export without duty payments to China 130 are from the textiles sector. The reduced tariffs on textile products, an expected surge in Chinese investment into Pakistan, and the potential shift of production base from China to Pakistan may change the regional dynamics of the textile trade.

Pakistan has a target of raising the country’s textile and clothing exports by 2025. As China has the world’s largest textile industry—in terms of both production and export—it is an inevitable trading partner for Pakistan to meet this 2025 target.