A HOMEWARE and soft furnishings manufacturer that has made a multi-million pound commitment to developing in an up and coming region of China is co-hosting a visit by a trade delegation to Bolton tomorrow.

Rosemead Designs has teamed up with Business Bolton to present a workshop and networking event with a trade delegation from The People's Government of Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing, China, to hear more about the investment opportunities available in the region.

The workshop will highlight the assistance the Chinese government can provide to businesses thinking of setting up in China.

Over the last 10 years, Lostock-based Rosemead, which supplies home furnishing products to UK high street retailers, has increasingly worked with factories in Pakistan, India and China to source and manufacture products.

It recently acquired Jiaxing Xin Bao, a textiles manufacturing company employing 40 people based in Jiaxing.

Latif Jiva, a director of Rosemead, said: "Manufacturing in China allowed us to maintain our commitment to deliver high quality products at lower prices because our costs were kept low.

"But in the last 18 months, we have effectively set up our own manufacturing operation there."

Through a local Chinese inward investment office, the company has also embarked on a land-buying project in Jiaxing.

Mr Jiva said: "We want to set up more manufacturing and export operations there.

"Jiaxing is an up and coming city. We have hitched our wagon to the opportunities in the city, and it is those that people can talk about at the workshop."

Bolton already has strong links with China, setting up a sister city agreement with the Zhaoqing municipality in the booming Guandong province, in the south of China, after a trade and political delegation from Bolton visited the country in October, 2005.

The workshop starts at 5.30pm tomorrow in the Cloisters Suite in Bolton's Holiday Inn in Higher Bridge Street. To attend, email faizal.ingar@bolton.gov.uk or call 01204 336222.