Dear readers

As I mentioned in the previous letter that ITMF2016 annual conference would have a new president， surely， Mr. Jaswinder Bedi from Kenya was elected as a new helmsman to steer this international organization on the next twoyear voyage in the troubled waters of global textile economy and trade being inflicted with slow growth in major markets. While I warmly congratulate on Mr. Bedis new presidency， I must sincerely apologize for having been informed of a wrong message through an informal source that someone from Indian textile industry had been expected to take the office as ITMFs new president， having taken it for granted that it must be the very reason why the annual conference should be hosted by the local textile organization in India.

Instead of sitting at the office desk in Beijing， I was physically sitting at ITMF2016 annual conference hosted by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry（CITI） in Jaipur， the pink city of India， on Nov.17-19， 2016. The information I was able to obtain over there is definitely correct and boots-on-the-ground， without making sarcastic mistakes that usually happen for anyone who slouches in comfortable armchair at work， craning his neck forward toward a keyboard， tilting his head to cradle a phone while typing.

The annual conference， attended by approx. 400 participants from about 30 countries and regions from global textile companies， trade organizations， raw material and equipment suppliers， government representatives， buyers and business peers ect.， provides a wide spectrum of industrial information and trade issues that challenge textile players against the backdrop of ongoing slow growth worldwide， focusing on the leitmotif of Global Textile Economy in the New Normal.

In China， the terms “New Normal” is closely related to the new phase of economic transformation and upgrading in Chinas economy， featuring a change of growth speed， a process of industrial restructuring and a shift to new driver in Chinas economy. In the developed world， the term “New Normal” is referred to as a slower growth rate of the global economy as a consequence of the financial crisis in 2008. Optimistically， it is a new phase of shaping to the future by building up new business model in competitive concepts and industrial structure. A presentation made by Gherzi company makes a very good point that the traditional textile added value chain is decentralized， atomized with limited integration or transparency， and should be reshaped into new business models characteristic of increased integration， sustainability， production near POS（point of sale） and new players， where system thinking is dominant and constructive， bringing traditionally-decentralized industrial value-added chain together to work integrally in new topography of resources-production-design-retail-consumption-end of life-upcycling & reuse on economically-， socially- and environmentally-beneficial terms. Sure enough， this concept falls in line with Mr. Tiankai Wangs opening address to welcome the participants on behalf of ITMF as he was then president at the first day of the conference before he fulfilled his two-year presidency tenure the next day. He addressed the audience in welcome speech， stating that in the “New Normal”， the textile industry shall be an important driver to the economic recovery and a fundamental force that leads to future development on a global basis， considering the fact that the textile industry is playing an even greater role in improving peoples life， propelling growth of relevant sectors， driving efficient social development and improving eco-civilization.

Thats a clear and correct message Ive got at the meeting， and hopefully， an equally clear and correct understanding of the conference theme.