The Antwerp Diamond Conference held in October was told that China, with approximately 20,000 polishers, has become the world's second biggest polishing centre after India. The manufacturing process is often contracted by Belgian, Israeli and even Indian companies, the Financial Times said.
Retail sales of diamonds have also been growing in China, from US$140m in 1990 to US$610m in 2000 and they were forecast to grow by 20-25 per cent over the next decade.