A new group, the Overseas China Shoe Chamber of Commerce, has been organized for Chinese footwear companies that are not based in the country. It had its first meeting this month in Rome, when it appointed Xiang Jinguang to be its first president. It started off with 320 shoe companies, mostly traders from the Whenzou region that do business in various Italian cities. The group is described as a sales platform for shoe exporters from that area.