Exporters in Zhejiang facing 'serious situation'

Export-oriented private enterprises in Zhejiang province are facing a "serious situation" because of a tighter currency policy and rising material costs, provincial officials said at a press conference in Beijing, state media reported. Small and medium-sized enterprises have been particularly hard hit. Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald reported in July that 20% of 300,000 small firms in Wenzhou, one of the province’s manufacturing hubs, stopped operation. Growth of garment and textile exports have slowed significantly this year across China, and the country’s trade surplus fell by 9.6% in the first seven months of the year.