As measured by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s cotton fabric output reached 2.399 billion square meters in August, representing 11.1 percent year-on-year growth, which was the slowest monthly expansion since February. January through August cumulative cotton fabric production reached 23.549 billion square meters, a year-on-year gain of 18.5 percent. China’s fixed asset investment in textiles and apparel remains strong, but the faster-growing investment is now occurring in the apparel sector.