Chinese Cotton: Textiles, Imports, and Xinjiang

China limits imports of cotton by a quota and encourages textile manufacturers to purchase cotton from Xinjiang, a relatively remote region where 90 percent of China’s cotton is grown. Nevertheless, 1,581 textile manufacturers applied for a share of the import quota between 2016 and 2022, thereby demonstrating their strong interest in importing cotton. The quota applicants reported that imports comprised about 20 percent of the cotton they used, but a few large companies accounted for a disproportionate amount. About 14 percent of applicants said imported cotton comprised over half of the cotton they used. Multivariate analysis found that applicants in coastal provinces—thousands of miles from Xinjiang—used more imported cotton than similarly sized applicants in other regions. In contrast, textile manufacturers in Xinjiang reported imports constituted less than 2 percent of the cotton they used—and 66 percent reported using no imported cotton. While China’s imports of cotton are projected to gradually increase over the next decade, China’s dominant position in the cotton market appears to be weakening, with U.S. cotton exports shifting to other Asian countries.