Recent data released shows that the total transaction volume of China's Textile City market reached 441.386 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 10.07% compared to the previous year, indicating the market potential of China's textile industry. 

The light textile industry refers to an industrial sector centered on the textile industry, covering multiple fields such as textile raw materials, clothing and accessories, and home textile products. Its products are not only used to meet people's basic living needs, but also applied in fields such as national defense, heavy industry, and education, culture, health and welfare. Globally, China has the most complete and well-coordinated modern light industrial and textile industry system, with strong stability and self-regulation capabilities. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's light industry and textile industry demonstrated strong resilience in complex environments, steadily enhanced global competitiveness, and is accelerating the transition from scale leadership to quality leadership, and from being a low-cost supplier to a global innovation partner. 

Currently, in the complex external environment of sluggish global economic recovery, intensified geopolitical conflicts, and the continuous rise of trade protectionism, the global supply chain is showing a trend of regional restructuring. Emerging manufacturing bases in Southeast Asia and South Asia, with their low-cost advantages, continue to squeeze out the space of China's traditional industries. Developed countries in Europe and America have increasingly strict trade barriers for light textiles, especially the textile and clothing industries. The international competition for digital and intelligent transformation has intensified. Despite its significant scale advantages, China's textile industry still faces structural contradictions and quality-efficiency issues such as insufficient high-end supply, weak brand influence, dependence on core technologies, heavy pressure for green and low-carbon transformation, and a need to enhance its position in the industrial value chain. To address these issues, multiple measures must be taken and targeted responses must be implemented. 

Accelerate the digitalization, flexibility and green development of the textile and clothing industry. Led by digital transformation, supported by flexible production, promote the industry towards higher-end, intelligent and low-carbon development. Develop small-batch, multi-variety and fast-response production models to meet individualized consumer demands. Build a green manufacturing system for the entire life cycle of textiles and clothing, improve green supply chain management, and enhance the green competitiveness of products in the international market. 

Cultivate globally leading chain leaders and industrial ecosystems. Promote the coordinated interaction between policy guidance and market mechanisms, cultivate a number of light textile chain leaders with global resource allocation capabilities, drive the integrated development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and build an industrial ecosystem system featuring "leadership at the forefront, coordinated echelons, and shared risks". Optimize the policy environment, strengthen intellectual property protection, create a fair competitive market environment, and stimulate the vitality of all business entities. 

Build a competitive and renowned brand with international influence. Vigorously implement the "brand-driven business" strategy, establish a multi-level brand system consisting of "regional brand + enterprise brand + product brand", enhance the international influence, and promote the light textile industry to transform from "Made in China" to "Created in China" and "Brand China". 

Strengthen cooperation with countries participating in the "Belt and Road Initiative". Further improve the top-level institutional design, accelerate the implementation of international production capacity cooperation policies, and support capable light textile enterprises to invest and set up factories in the participating countries. Expand trade space and increase the market share of China's light textile products in the participating countries. Build light textile industrial parks and create regional light textile industrial clusters to achieve common development. 

Author: Wang Yunping, Wei Li. They are respectively a researcher and an associate researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Technology Economy of the National Development and Reform Commission. 

Source: Economic Daily