Facing New Opportunities And Challenges, The Textile Industry Will Forge New Competitive Advantages

China is the world's largest textile producer and exporter. Textile is a traditional competitive industry, covering many links such as raw material manufacturing, textile manufacturing, clothing production, etc. China's textile industry has formed the largest and most complete industrial system in the world, and its production capacity and international trade scale have long ranked first in the world. Policies such as the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" for the Development of the Textile Industry, the Three Year Action Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Textile Industry (2022-2024), and the Implementation Plan for the Quality Improvement and Upgrading of the Textile Industry (2023-2025) were introduced, which injected power into the rapid and healthy development of the industry. With the accelerated restructuring of the global industrial chain, China's textile industry is facing new opportunities and challenges. How to cultivate new machines and create new situations? In this issue, specially invited experts discussed relevant issues.

　　 China's textile industry is deeply embedded in the international supply chain

From a global perspective, what changes have textile manufacturing centers experienced? What kind of competition pattern does the textile industry present at present?

Xu Yingxin (Vice President of China Textile Industry Federation): Since the birth of handmade textiles, the textile industry has a history of thousands of years. The mechanized cotton textile industry began with the first industrial revolution in the 1860s, and since then the layout of the world textile industry chain has undergone many changes.

After the first industrial revolution, the mechanized factory gradually replaced the small family workshop mode of textile production, and Britain became the earliest manufacturing center in the history of the world textile industry. Since then, the global textile manufacturing center has moved from Britain to the United States and then to Western European countries and Japan. From the 1960s to the 1990s, developed countries shifted their textile manufacturing to South Korea, Singapore and other countries and regions. However, due to limited local resources, the process of undertaking and developing the textile industry is relatively short. At the initial stage, it was mainly to undertake export-oriented and labor-intensive garment processing industries. Although some economies extended to the upstream of the industrial chain, they soon entered the stage of industrial transfer out, and China and other countries became new destinations to undertake the transfer of the textile industry.

Today, developed countries still occupy a dominant position in the fields of high-performance and functional fiber materials, high-end industrial textiles and high-end textile equipment, and retain a small amount of traditional textile and clothing processing industries to varying degrees, such as high-end woolen fabrics and clothing in Italy, France, Germany and other countries, which are famous in the fashion industry.

In the 1970s, China introduced technology to build four major synthetic fiber bases, initially establishing a complete textile industry system, laying a solid foundation for undertaking and developing the textile industry. After the reform and opening up, with the processing trade as the starting point, actively utilize foreign capital, undertake international industrial transfer, and constantly expand the industrial scale and extend and enrich the industrial chain. After joining the WTO, the broad international market has fully released the competitiveness of China's textile industry. In the process of open competition, China's textile industry has completed the transition from following imitation, introduction, digestion, absorption and re innovation to independent innovation, and has established the world's most complete independent modern textile industry system, covering the three terminals from chemical fiber, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing to clothing, home textiles, and industrial textiles, as well as the whole manufacturing chain of textile machinery. The manufacturing capacity and international trade scale of China's textile industry have long ranked first in the world, occupying a central position in the manufacturing end of the international textile supply chain.

Around 2010, with the rise of China's comprehensive manufacturing costs, many international buyers turned to look for cheaper suppliers, and the garment industry in Southeast Asia and South Asia entered the fast lane of development. After 2018, the textile industry is facing a complex and changing international trade environment. "Offshore outsourcing" and "Friendly offshore outsourcing" have become important trends in the adjustment of the layout of the international procurement supply chain. The role of internal trade in Latin America, African countries and the European Union in the international supply chain has improved. Some Chinese textile enterprises take the initiative to participate in the international industrial layout, build production and processing bases in Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions through the acquisition of textile raw material bases, high-end manufacturing enterprises, technology research and development institutions, as well as high-quality brands and market channels, and build up an efficient international supply chain system by creating a "Belt and Road" landmark project, The new advantages of participating in international competition and cooperation continue to grow. So far, the stock of foreign direct investment in China's textile industry is about 12 billion dollars.

Unlike Vietnam and other developing countries that mainly rely on factor cost advantages to undertake textile industry transfer, China's textile industry has formed a core competitiveness marked by science and technology, fashion and green, and its role in the international textile supply chain is difficult to replace. Specifically, the independent technical equipment of the whole textile industry chain has reached the international advanced level, breaking the technological monopoly of developed countries in high-tech fiber materials, key textile equipment and other fields, and the rate of textile equipment autonomy has exceeded 75%; Textile and garment fashion design and brand building have entered a development stage dominated by independent originality. The export of key enterprises is dominated by ODM (original design manufacturer). Creative design is combined with the digital economy, and product quality, channel mode and consumption experience are constantly optimized; We have independently broken through the key technologies of textile cleaner production, bio based fiber technology and recycling technology of waste fiber products, and the output of recycled chemical fiber has exceeded 5 million tons, becoming the backbone force to promote low-carbon, green and sustainable development of the global textile industry chain. In terms of import and export, China is still the main source of international procurement of household and industrial textiles and medium and high-grade textile clothing. In 2023, the global proportion of textile exports will be 42.1%, 11.7 percentage points higher than that in 2010; In terms of chemical fiber, industrial textiles, textile machinery and other high-tech value-added products, the country has changed from a net importer to the world's largest exporter.

Since this year, the world economy has recovered moderately, but it still faces problems such as weak rebound momentum, differentiated performance of major economies, and weak trade and investment growth. The consumption demand of textile and clothing slows down. In 2023, the total export volume of world textile and clothing will decrease by 6.3% year on year. The sluggish demand and insufficient orders have become the real problems facing the global textile supply chain.

Weak demand has led to more intense competition in the international market, and rising trade protectionism has exacerbated the competitive pressure on textile and clothing enterprises. Some developing countries rely on factor cost advantage and tariff preference advantage given by developed countries to continuously expand the supply scale of end products and vigorously improve the supporting industrial chain. China's complete textile industry system has strong resilience, promoting the continuous release of comprehensive efficiency. In 2021, the total export volume of textiles and clothing will hit a new historical peak, and it will be stable at more than 300 billion dollars for many years. China is focusing on improving its core competitiveness in science and technology, fashion, green and other aspects, giving full play to its digital intelligence, innovation, low-carbon advantages, and deeply embedded in the international supply chain, Enhance the voice and influence in the formulation of international rules and standards in the supply chain.

　　 Textile industry shows strong resilience and vitality

As China's traditional pillar industry, what are the advantages of the textile industry and how is its overall development?

Xu Fujun (Vice President and Professor of the Textile College of Donghua University): China is one of the largest producers of cotton, chemical fiber, ramie and other raw materials in the world. Adequate and stable supply of raw materials has effectively reduced the production costs of textile enterprises. At the same time, the production, processing, transportation and other links of raw materials are closely linked, and the perfect supply chain provides a strong guarantee for the production and operation of enterprises, which is conducive to enhancing their flexibility and adaptability in market competition. From the consumer side, China's huge population base and rising consumption level provide a broad market space for the textile industry. In particular, the market demand for high-end textiles and personalized customized products is growing, which adds new impetus to the sustainable development of the textile industry.

China's textile industry has grown from small to large, from weak to strong, and has constantly gathered surging forces. After years of development, the textile industry has established a complete division system and formed a complete industrial chain from raw materials to end products. The structure of the textile industry chain can be divided into three main parts: the upstream mainly involves the production and supply of textile raw materials, including cotton, linen, silk, wool and chemical fiber. As the world's largest cotton producer, China's cotton output will reach 5.62 million tons in 2023, accounting for a quarter of the global total output; The chemical fiber industry is concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. The chemical fibers produced in these regions mainly include polyester, nylon, spandex, etc., and are widely used in various textile manufacturing. The midstream industry is the core part of the textile industry, mainly including spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing. A large number of advanced textile enterprises have gathered in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. The application of modern production equipment and the synergy of resource integration have greatly improved production efficiency and product quality. Downstream industries mainly include the manufacturing and sales of end products such as clothing, home textiles and industrial textiles. Relying on the complete industrial chain, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta have formed a number of textile industry clusters. Through vertical integration and horizontal coordination, the overall competitiveness of the textile industry has been greatly improved.

In recent years, the development trend of textile industry agglomeration is obvious. In 2023, 54 of the 59 100 billion counties will be located in the urban agglomeration, with textile and clothing as its leading industry. In the linkage of urban agglomerations such as Suzhou Xitong and Hangzhou Shaoxing Ningbo, textile characteristic clusters have formed intensive and collaborative advantages in the dislocation and complementary development, effectively promoting the coordinated development of regional economy. Keqiao, Shengze, Changshu, Humen, Haining and other places have developed into a 100 billion yuan textile industry cluster with world influence. From the perspective of local characteristic industries, chemical fiber polyester is mainly concentrated in Shengze, Xiaoshan, Jiaxing and other places, chemical fiber nylon is mainly distributed in Changle, Jiaxing, cotton textile is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Binzhou, Foshan and other places, woven is mainly distributed in Shengze, Keqiao, knitting is mainly distributed in Ningbo, Tongxiang, Zhongshan, Foshan, footwear and clothing industry is mainly distributed in Jinjiang, Putian, Wenzhou, Home textile and furniture are mainly distributed in Nantong and Xiaoshan, and spinning and weaving equipment are mainly distributed in Zhengzhou, Changzhou and other places. These regions have a large number of textile enterprises, advanced production equipment and experienced industrial workers, forming a perfect industrial cluster with obvious competitive advantages. The enterprises in the industrial cluster are concentrated, the supporting facilities are perfect, and the information circulation is convenient, so as to build a good industrial ecosystem and radiate to the central and western regions.

The textile industry closely follows the needs of social development, constantly improves the basic capacity and modernization level of the industrial chain, promotes fundamental changes in quality, power and efficiency, and increasingly presents the trend of intelligent and green development. China's textile industry has obvious manufacturing advantages, providing key supporting services for individual systems, nuclear, chemical and biological protection, aerospace equipment, medical equipment, etc., and playing an increasingly prominent role in serving the national strategic overall situation. In recent years, the textile industry has made great progress in advanced functional fibers, high-performance fibers, green ecological fibers and other fields, providing important support for high-quality supply, market application expansion, green development and the promotion of international voice. By optimizing the structure and changing the driving force, the technological transformation and upgrading of the textile industry has accelerated, which has played an important role in stabilizing the economic operation, creating more employment space, promoting the improvement of people's livelihood, and balancing the balance of payments.

After years of rapid development, China has become the world's largest textile producer and exporter. In terms of scale, China's total fiber processing volume accounts for more than 50% of the world's total, chemical fiber output accounts for more than 70% of the world's total, and the total export volume of textiles and clothing has remained above 300 billion dollars for many years, contributing more than 50% to the growth of the world's total export volume of textiles and clothing. In 2023, the total amount of fiber processing in China will be more than 60 million tons, and the total profit of textile enterprises above designated size will be 180.2 billion yuan, up 7.2% year on year. In the first three quarters of this year, the completed investment in fixed assets in the textile industry, clothing industry and chemical fiber industry increased by 14.6%, 16.3% and 4.7% year on year respectively. Against the background of slowing global economic growth and complex and volatile international situation, textile industry exports face risks and challenges such as insufficient demand in the international market and intensified competition. As the traditional pillar industry of China's national economy, the textile industry has demonstrated strong resilience and vitality, and achieved stable and healthy development. From January to November this year, China's textile and clothing exports reached 273.06 billion US dollars, up 2.0% year on year, including 128.84 billion US dollars in textile exports, up 4.6% year on year. Foreign trade enterprises have diversified to expand the international market, and the growth of export trade to Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and other countries is remarkable.

It should also be noted that the current international pattern is undergoing profound adjustment, the global economic growth momentum is insufficient, and the development of China's textile industry is also facing structural transformation, insufficient endogenous power and other problems. Developing new quality productivity, promoting the formation of a faster, broader and deeper innovation system, and then leading the high-quality development of the industry, will become an important focus in the future.

　　 Integrated development reshapes the advantages of the whole industrial chain

As one of the regions that carried out the integration of industrialization and industrialization in the textile industry earlier in the country, how did Shandong combine its resource endowments to revitalize traditional industries?

Wang Xiao (Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology): The textile industry is one of the earliest industries to explore the integration of industrialization and informatization. Shandong is a major textile province and one of the important bases of China's textile industry. The textile industry has a deep foundation. From a yarn to a piece of cloth to a piece of clothing, the industrial chain covers all links from chemical fiber, spinning, weaving, printing and dyeing to terminal products, with a perfect system and obvious competitive advantages.

However, in recent years, affected by industrial transfer, rising labor costs, tightening environmental protection policies and other factors, Shandong's textile industry is also facing problems such as the urgent need to improve high-end capacity, and the relative surplus of low-end capacity. The pressure on industrial transformation and upgrading is increasing. Take the textile, clothing and apparel industry as an example. Although there are many enterprises, most of them are at the middle and low end of the value chain. The production equipment is backward, the technical reserves are insufficient, the innovation ability is weak, and the competitiveness of the industrial chain is not strong. How to break the situation in the face of these difficulties?

Only relying on traditional coping strategies can not meet the urgent needs of sustainable development. Promoting the deep integration of informatization and industrialization is the only way for the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry and high-quality development. For the textile industry, digitization is one of the key keys to promote the integration of industrialization and industrialization. In the direction of intelligent transformation and digital transformation, Shandong, in combination with its own industrial conditions, has made multi-dimensional efforts to promote the all-round and chain transformation and upgrading of the textile industry, and has made every effort to build a complete, advanced and safe modern textile industry system.

The first is to set a benchmark for strong reserves and make breakthroughs "on the spot". As the hub node of material flow, information flow and energy flow, intelligent factory is the main position to promote industrial digital transformation. The application of intelligent textile equipment, AGV robots, etc. has filled the automation breakpoint of traditional textile production lines, making factories more "smart" and achieving significant cost reduction and efficiency increase. As the only textile industry cluster in the north of the Yangtze River that exceeds 100 billion yuan, Binzhou City has made efforts from the point of view, established the cultivation library of key digital transformation projects (enterprises), and built world-class brands driven by leading enterprises. In 2023, the city's intelligent textile industry cluster will achieve an operating income of 184.4 billion yuan. How to transform textile enterprises? Digital transformation has become a "required course". For example, Weiqiao Group promoted the upgrading of enterprises with an intelligent matrix, built 16 intelligent textile branches, and reduced energy consumption by more than 40% and saved water by more than 20%; Huafang Co., Ltd. completed the transformation and upgrading of 48 intelligent dyeing and printing production lines, integrated new information technologies such as intelligent perception and machine vision into the production process, and realized online control of process parameters and intelligent and accurate distribution of chemicals throughout the printing and dyeing process.

The second is to build a platform and re collaborate "on the chain" connectivity. The development of fashion industry and the emergence of new models such as large-scale personalized customization and small order quick reaction put forward higher requirements for the production and turnover efficiency of the textile industry. Shandong regards the industrial Internet as an important link to realize the comprehensive interconnection of people, machines and things and promote the deep integration of traditional industries and the digital economy. Through the application of artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other technologies, it forms a new state of intelligent design with the platform, designers and customers as the core, and builds a new personalized customization service platform. Taking Weihai Dishang Group as an example, relying on the cloud design center, the enterprise has gathered the design resources of more than 500 brand companies around the world and opened them to designers, realizing the efficient transformation of design achievements. At the same time, it has linked more than 4000 suppliers and 500000 pieces of auxiliary materials data around the world through the auxiliary materials platform, forming a supply chain system with extensive coverage and rich resources. Another example is Ruihua Group, which has transformed from a large freight forwarder to a small order fast turnaround, which has increased the daily output by about 35%, the order volume by 30%, and the added value of orders by 150%.

Third, the "online" transformation of e-commerce education model. The surging tide of live broadcast injects new impetus into the textile industry. More than 70% of Qingdao's textile and clothing industry is concentrated in Jimo District, where there are more than 3800 textile and clothing enterprises, with an annual output of about 800 million pieces of clothing. How to make the old industry "new"? The district gives full play to the advantages of children's clothing brand, registers the geographical indication of "Jimo children's clothing", and at the same time speeds up the construction of the live broadcast e-commerce digital economy industrial park, attracts many live broadcast e-commerce institutions to settle in, and tries to expand online sales channels. By 2023, it will achieve online retail sales of 13.5 billion yuan, of which the sales of clothing, shoes, hats and textiles account for more than 50%. Caoxian County has more than 2500 Han clothing enterprises and 14000 online stores. With the advantages of e-commerce and industrial resources, all processes from fabric dyeing, tailoring to finished product manufacturing can be completed efficiently within 5 kilometers. The mode of "cluster+regional brand+e-commerce" not only improves production efficiency and reduces production costs, but also greatly improves product popularity. "Jimo Children's Clothing" and "Caoxian Hanfu" stand out in the fierce market competition.

By means of enterprise leadership, government promotion and digital empowerment, Shandong textile and clothing, a traditional industry, is steadily moving towards modernization, intelligence and high-end, and the advantages of the whole industry chain and core competitiveness are constantly highlighted. Up to now, the digital transformation coverage of textile enterprises above designated size has exceeded 90%, 4 national intelligent manufacturing demonstration plants and excellent scenes have been cultivated, and more than 10 digital platform projects such as national industrial Internet pilot demonstration and "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" platform pilot demonstration have been carried out, showing a strong development momentum.

The road to digital transformation is not a smooth one, but a process full of challenges, complex and changeable, and needs continuous deep cultivation. On the way to intelligent and high-end transformation, Shandong's textile industry continues to improve quality and efficiency, forge industrial strength for the transformation of new and old driving forces and for new and strong development, and strive to build a world-class modern textile industry system.

(Source: Economic Daily)