Chinese Sewing Machinery Brands Showcase at CAITME 2026 in Tashkent, Tapping New Opportunities in Central Asia's Textile and Apparel Sector

From September 8 to 10, the 17th Central Asian International Textile Machinery Exhibition (CAITME 2026) was held at the National Exhibition Center in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The exhibition brought together nearly 300 exhibitors from 18 countries. China had more exhibitors than any other foreign country. A number of leading Chinese sewing equipment brands gathered in the apparel manufacturing equipment zone of Hall 3, where they showed the Central Asian market what Chinese sewing equipment can do.

Uzbekistan is a key hub market under the Belt and Road Initiative and the world's sixth-largest cotton producer. Textiles and apparel form its second pillar industry and a major source of export earnings. Supported by government policies such as equipment tariff reductions and industrial subsidies, local home textile and garment factories are upgrading their technology and expanding capacity on a large scale. This is driving sustained demand for imported sewing and embroidery equipment, and the market is quickly moving from a "cotton warehouse" toward a textile and apparel manufacturing center. Customs data show that from January to July 2026, China's exports of sewing machinery products to Uzbekistan reached US$35.81 million, up 32.31% year on year. This makes Uzbekistan a key growth market for Chinese sewing machinery companies expanding into Central Asia.

At this year's exhibition, complete-machine, electronic control and component manufacturers were all present, including Jack, Maqi, Shang Gong Group, Hikari, Precious, Baoyu, Supreme, Dahao, Xinsheng, Yuelong, Bruce, Zhongyi, Ricoma, Lingfeng and Mitchell. Some brands exhibited at joint booths with their local distributors. The exhibits covered industrial sewing machines, special pattern sewing machines, multi-head computerized embroidery machines, laser-combined embroidery equipment, electronic control systems and pattern-making software. Exhibitors brought cost-effective, proven models suited to local factories. They also introduced new intelligent solutions such as AI vision-based thread-break detection, magnetic levitation embroidery frames and multi-head synchronized electronic control, tailored to the production needs of Central Asia's home textile and ethnic apparel fabric sectors.

The exhibition drew a steady stream of visitors. Besides local Uzbek manufacturers, buyers from neighboring countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan traveled to the show to visit and hold business talks. Interest in high-end equipment was clearly higher than at previous editions, and booths saw very active negotiations on intended orders.

Notably, Chinese sewing equipment companies are changing how they approach overseas markets. Rather than competing on price alone, they now offer integrated turnkey solutions that combine complete machines, electronic controls and process know-how. They are also addressing the market's weak points. Central Asian customers are concerned about spare parts supply and maintenance response times, so a number of Chinese companies are working with local service providers to build localized after-sales service networks more quickly.