Last month, the ICA held a training workshop for 30+ delegates from the cotton industry on 17-19 June 2025, in the Qingdao Free Trade Zone, China.
A hub responsible for passing through over 75% of the imported cotton to China, Qingdao holds a unique position in the global cotton map. Delegates came from as far as Beijing, Henan and Shanghai. Dr Robert Jiang, ICA Business & Development Manager, and Mr Kevin Xue, ICA Technical Arbitrator, presented on subjects including contracting, performance, logistics, quality, classing, instrument testing, arbitration, membership and textiles. Ms Pan Zhiyan, ICA Liaison Officer in China, organised the event together with a visit to a cotton warehouse and fire drill health & safety exercise.
Commenting on the workshop, Robert says, “It’s a great pleasure to meet talented delegates from a wide spectrum of the cotton world in such workshops. It demonstrates the necessity for a timely update of commercial, procedural and legislative changes to regulations. Information is key, especially in risk aversion, clearing misconceptions, problem solving, and decision making. I wish to thank Ms Pan, Kevin and all involved in making this workshop a memorable experience.”
Established in 1993, China Cotton Group Co Ltd is a backbone enterprise of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives and China Supply and Marketing Group. The group has a strong resource base and processing network in China’s cotton producing areas, and has also built a complete supply chain system worldwide through subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Australia. Delegates from the China Cotton Group, Ms Liu Hao and Mr Sun Zixi said, “ICA’s professional training enables students to apply and master international cotton trade bylaws and rules. The course systematically explains the ICA Bylaws & Rules, especially in terms of arbitration mechanism, application of standardised contracts and handling of quality disputes, which greatly enhance students’ risk prediction ability and compliance operation level in a complex trade environment.”
Weiqiao Group is the world’s largest cotton textile company. Ranking 175th in the 2024 “Fortune” Global 500, Weiqiao Group had a sales revenue of 520.2 billion yuan in 2023 and produces more than 3 million tons of cotton yarns annually. Ms Hu Linfang and Mr Ren Rudong, of Weiqiao, said, “Studying ICA Bylaws & Rules is a process that closely combines theory with practice, which has enabled me to achieve comprehensive improvement in professional knowledge, risk awareness, communication skills, etc.”
Further workshops are planned to be held in China – watch this space.
Photos courtesy of Ms Pan and team
