A single yarn weaves a trillion-yuan industry, and a piece of fabric links the global market. Recently, a grand textile and garment industry event focusing on "new quality productivity" and "co-construction of an innovative ecosystem" kicked off in Haizhu District, Guangzhou City. The establishment conference of the Guangzhou Modern Textile and Garment New Quality Productivity Research Institute and the co-construction conference of the Textile Industry Innovation Ecosystem, jointly organized by the Science and Technology, Industry, Commerce and Information Bureau of Haizhu District, Guangzhou City and the Xingang Sub-district Office, brought together representatives from government departments, universities, research institutions, industry associations and enterprises along the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Have a deep dialogue centered on "Future-oriented industrial ecosystem Design".

01 Reconstruct industrial logic with ecological thinking

At present, in the face of the convergence of the reshaping of the global fashion industry landscape and the new round of technological revolution, the textile and garment industry, which has grown from traditional business forms, is confronted with profound structural challenges: the competitiveness of small, medium and micro enterprises is relatively weak, and the core technology and brand premium capacity need to be enhanced urgently. Innovation resources are distributed in a fragmented manner, and there is a "last mile" problem in the integration of industry, academia, research and application. The digital and green transformation is confronted with the realistic predicament of "unwilling to transform, unable to transform, and not knowing how to transform"... How to infuse the industry with the "new quality" gene and drive it to climb to the high end of the value chain has become an era issue facing all practitioners.

Xia Lingmin, secretary-general of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, said, "The new quality productivity driven by scientific and technological innovation is reshaping the industrial landscape with unprecedented intensity, bringing a historic opportunity for the transformation and upgrading of the textile and garment industry."

As a large-scale specialized market business district for textile fabrics and accessories, the Zhongda Textile Business District in Haizhu District gathers 57 specialized markets and over 23,000 merchants, with products covering more than 100,000 categories and an annual transaction volume exceeding 300 billion yuan. It is a textile industry hub that radiates across the country and influences the world. It has become a consensus in the industry to transform the foundation of traditional advantageous industries into innovative momentum.

02 Reshape the industrial gene through technological innovation

At the conference site, Peng Huitao, a senior researcher from Anta Group's Science and Technology Innovation Department, introduced China's first self-developed high-performance waterproof and moisture-permeable material - "Anta Membrane". Its membrane layer contains billions of nanoscale micropores, with diameters tens of thousands of times smaller than water droplets, effectively preventing external rainwater from penetrating. However, it is hundreds of times larger than water molecules and can quickly expel the sweat vapor evaporated from the body, thus achieving the outstanding dual functions of "waterproofing" and "breathability". This innovative technology that breaks the foreign technological monopoly was jointly developed by Anta Group and Donghua University. It is precisely the reverse research and development mechanism of "enterprises setting problems and talents solving them" that plays a key role behind it.

Since the beginning of this year, under the guidance of the relevant superior units, relying on the key industrial talent development and cultivation project of Guangzhou City, and focusing on the key point of "promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation", Guangzhou Zhongdamen, in collaboration with Xingang Sub-district and the China Textile Engineering Society, has jointly established the Guangzhou Modern Textile and Garment New Quality Productivity Research Institute. Relying on the research institute, an implementation path of "government support, university backing, enterprise participation, and association connection" is established. Guided by market demand, enterprises put forward the technical bottlenecks and innovation demands encountered in actual production. Donghua University forms an expert team to cooperate with enterprises in project research and development and scientific research breakthroughs, transforming the cutting-edge technologies in the laboratory into products that precisely meet market demands. Realize the closed loop of "demand - research and development - transformation", allowing innovation to truly grow from the industrial soil and truly become the core engine driving industrial upgrading.

Wu Dequn, the director of the Guangzhou Modern Textile and Garment New Quality Productivity Research Institute and a professor at the School of Textile of Donghua University, said, "The institute strives to transform 'flood irrigation' research into 'drip irrigation' service, enabling R&D to directly target the production lines and market demands of enterprises, reducing the risks and costs of independent R&D for enterprises, and accelerating the pace of innovation."

03 Activate internal driving force through talent aggregation

Science and technology are the primary productive forces, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driving force. Talent is the decisive factor in promoting industrial and technological innovation. To adapt to the new demands of the industry, the talent cultivation model is undergoing a transformation.

Chen Ge, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of Donghua University, said We will strengthen intellectual support, innovate the collaborative education mechanism between schools and enterprises as well as between schools and localities, and cultivate and supply a group of compound leading talents and engineering and technological backbones with profound professional qualities, acute market insight and outstanding innovation capabilities for the research institute and the front lines of industries in Guangzhou and Haizhu through measures such as jointly building practice bases, customizing training programs and exchanging expert mentors.

It is learned that in order to support the implementation of the "One Million Talents Gathering in South China" action plan, Donghua University will, through the research institute platform, focus on relying on the School of Textile of Donghua University, select outstanding master's and doctoral students to come to Haizhu, conduct "resident and enterprise practice" and scientific research breakthroughs in the front line of industries, provide high-end talents for industrial development, and at the same time attract more high-quality talents to Haizhu for employment and entrepreneurship. Continuously activate the internal driving force for the innovative development of industries.

Meanwhile, the Textile and Garment Industry Talent Federation of Haizhu District, Guangzhou City will fully leverage its role in gathering various professional talents in design, pattern making, entrepreneurship, marketing, research and development, etc., to build a three-dimensional and diverse talent ecosystem, and form a "Haizhu model" of digital and intelligent empowerment throughout the entire industrial chain that attracts talents through industry, promotes industry through talents, and integrates industry and talents. The aim is to build Haizhu into a gathering place for leading talents in the textile and garment industry.

04 Promote ecological co-construction through platform building

The healthy and prosperous development of an industry cannot be achieved without an open and collaborative innovation ecosystem. At the conference site, representatives from government departments, industry associations, leading enterprises, universities and research institutions gathered together to have in-depth dialogues on the pain points, bottlenecks and future opportunities of the industrial chain. They also signed cooperation agreements on matters such as the industry-university-research collaboration between the Zhongda Textile Innovation Alliance and the Research Institute, and the joint construction of an industry-education integration training base by Donghua University and the Research Institute. This marks that an industrial innovation ecosystem featuring multi-party participation and shared construction is accelerating its formation.

In recent years, Haizhu District has been making continuous efforts in the construction of industrial platforms. Taking Guangzhou Zhongdamen as the carrier, we will continue to deepen and promote the "Five Transformations" working mechanism of "transforming markets into shopping malls, workshops into workshops, integrating exhibition and trade, leading design trends, and empowering new energy with digital intelligence". We will combine point and area to improve the quality and upgrade the professional markets in the business district, improve industrial supporting facilities, optimize the industrial ecosystem, and promote industrial innovation, thereby amplifying the "radiation-spillover - driving" effect of the business district industrial cluster. Promote the enhancement of regional industrial competitiveness.

The experts attending the conference believe that the convening of this conference marks that a consensus is taking shape on leading industrial upgrading with scientific and technological innovation and reshaping the future of industries through ecological co-construction. Relying on a solid industrial foundation and an open cooperative atmosphere, by continuously deepening the integration of industry, academia and research and improving the innovation service system, Guangzhou is expected to further consolidate and enhance its position in the global value chain and weave a new and splendid chapter for the future.

Source: Zhongdamen, Guangzhou