National Cotton Council leaders visited cotton industry officials in China to share information about cotton and gain a better understanding of the textile situation in what was the world’s largest cotton-producing nation. Coordinated by Cotton Council International, the NCC’s export promotions arm, the June 27–July 1 visit was the seventh by a US cotton industry delegation since the establishment of the US-China Cotton Leadership Exchange Program in 2006.

This ongoing exchange was initiated by a Memorandum of Understanding signed that year promising cooperation between the National Cotton Council of America and the China Cotton Association (CCA). The People’s Republic of China had been the world’s largest cotton-producing nation until it was supplanted by India.

Delegation members heard presentations from the CCA, the China Cotton Textile Association and the China National Textile and Apparel Council in Beijing, regarding current challenges facing the cotton market.