It was a display booth that looked different from all the others at a recent textile fair in Fujian province. For, Wang Yanzhu had earmarked about half of the space in his booth to a Taiwanese fabric producer with whom he hoped to forge a close partnership very soon.

Textile firms eye mainland mart [CFP]

"If it were not for the financial crisis, Tex-Ray Industrial Co (the Taiwanese firm which has over 30 years of experience in producing high-end fabric) would not have been so determined to set up strategic partnerships with garment producers on the mainland. We are now one of their largest clients," said Wang, whose company, Gaiqi Group, is one of the largest producers of T-shirts on the mainland.

Tex-Ray had just sent several of its staff members to join Gaiqi's management team and the two companies also planned to hold stakes in each other in the near future, Wang, who is Gaiqi's president, said.

"This year, our focus will be on the mainland-market oriented clothing producers," said Mason Ma, director at Tex-Ray's Shanghai office.

"As mainlanders' pockets get deeper, the market here promises huge demand for more sophisticated clothing. There are lots of opportunities for Taiwan companies, which have an advantage in producing mid- to high-end fabrics. You cannot just dump cheap products here," Ma said.