This Day, That Year

Item from Sept 11, 1994, in China Daily: Eight of every 10 people in the world are wearing Chinese-made shoes. Driven by strong demand, Chinese shoe exports will continue to grow in the years to come. Major markets for Chinese shoes are the United States and developed countries in Europe. China produced 4 billion pairs of shoes last year, accounting for 40 percent of the world's total production.

Although footwear manufacturing has shifted away from China to other countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia, China continues to be the leader in terms of worldwide exports, with 12.6 billion pairs of shoes produced in the country last year - 66 percent of the world total - and its exports stood at $47.8 billion.

Besides catering to its huge domestic demand, the country's shoemakers have been scrambling to promote their brands internationally.