It has been ten years since the concept of “building a community with a shared future for mankind” was proposed worldwide. As one of the industries with the highest degree of internationalization, the textile and apparel industry has been integrated into the great practice of jointly building the “Belt and Road Initiative” and effectively promoting the prosperity and development of the world. In the new era, working together to promote world modernization in peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and shared prosperity is the general trend of the global textile industry, which aims to speed up the establishment of a developed, innovative, and responsible community.
On November ,2023, the ITMF Annual Conference and the 2023 6th World Textile Merchandising Conference were held in Keqiao, Zhejiang. The two high-end international events in the industry were jointly held for the first time, focusing on the theme of “Digitalization and Circularity Megatrends Shaping the Textile Industry.” This has deepened innovation linkage and promoted practical cooperation. The conference provides suggestions with high-level platform, resource, and advantage integration for promoting the open integration and co-governance of the world textile industry and constructing a global textile supply chain system with new connotations and long-term value.
Heavyweight Guests Gathering at the Grand International Event
Ruizhe Sun, Chairman of The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Irene Pivetti, former Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Honorary President of the World Green Design Organization, Chairman of the Board of Fondazione Italia Cina, and President of Italy-China Friendship Association
Leaders from related ministries, committees, and associations:
Yiming Wang, Vice Chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges
Tiankai Wang, former Chairman of The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Qiang Li, Deputy Director General, Department of Consumer Goods Industry, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Jianbo Wang, Class II Inspector, Department of Market Construction, Ministry of Commerce
Longcheng Fu, Vice President, China General Chamber of Commerce
Jiuxin Wang, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Yingxin Xu, Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Dapeng Chen, Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Lingshen Li, Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Zhaohua Yang, Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Xi An Zhang, Vice President, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles
Leaders from related provincial-level departments and the Shaoxing People’s Government
Qinghong Shi, Deputy Secretary-General of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province
Huifang Shi, Mayor of Shaoxing and Deputy Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee
Xiaodong Zhu, Director of Shaoxing Keqiao Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress
Haiyang Wu, Chairman of Shaoxing Keqiao CCPCC
Lihua Chen, Deputy Secretary of Shaoxing Keqiao Party Committee and Political and Legal Committee
National academicians and university representatives:
Jianyong Yu, President of Donghua University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
Wenxing Chen, President of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
Meifang Zhu, Dean of the College of Materials Science and Engineering of Donghua University, Chinese Academy of Science
Weilin Xu, President of Wuhan Textile University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
International guests:
Mario Boselli, Chairman of the Italy China Council Foundation（ICCF）and Honorary President of the National Chamber for Italian Fashion
Srinivasan K.V., Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Parés Boj Juan Angel, Vice President, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Christine Schindler, Secretary, China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
Lyne Cohen-solal, President of Institut National des Métiers d’Art（INMA）, Cultural Advisor to Macron’s government, and former mayor of Paris
Hervé Huchet, International Director of FHCM and fashion advisor to the French government
Leaders from the People’s Government of Keqiao District:
Hao Chen, Secretary of Shaoxing Keqiao Party Committee
Jian Yuan, Deputy Secretary of Keqiao Party Committee and District Governor of Keqiao, Shaoxing
Key enterprise representatives from China and abroad:
Jianrong Ma, Board Director, Shenzhou Group
Shuirong Li, Board Director, Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group
Hongxia Zhang, Party Secretary and General Manager, Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Limited
Yonghua Wu, Executive Director and Co-CEO, Anta Sports Products Ltd.
Lingmei Chen, Board Director, EEKA Fashion Holdings Limited
Xiaoyan Zhou, Board Director of Milanhuaxia Group and Chairman of Maggie Foundation Italia
Lan Yang, Renowned media figure and Chairman of Sunshine Media Group
“We share actions and practices to show the wisdom and strength of the global textile industry in the face of unexpected challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of climate change, and global inflation. We participate in openness and cooperation to promote the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development implementation and contribute to a stable, growing, and open global economy. We encourage learning and innovation, promote the deep integration of the digital and industrial economy, promote industry green transformation, and jointly move towards a peaceful, developed, cooperative, and win-win future.” Yingxin Xu, the vice president of China National Textile and Apparel Council, pointed out the purpose of this conference in the opening ceremony.
In addition, nearly 1,000 people attended the meeting, including textile experts and business leaders from almost 60 countries and regions such as India, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Taiwan (China), well-known Chinese experts, heads of large-scale enterprises and organizations, government representatives of the textile industry cluster as well as the news media.
Persisting on Open Collaboration to Co-create a Global Sustainable Industrial Ecosystem
Deputy Director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Qiang Li, emphasized the rich cultural heritage, comprehensive industrial system, and continuous technological innovation capabilities that have woven the textile industry’s splendid history from “a single thread to a piece of fabric” over the centuries in his address. He outlined three expectations regarding the industry’s future development: First, upholding open collaboration and forging a global collaborative industrial ecosystem; Second, embracing technological leadership and a development path centred around green circular practices; Third, comprehensive cooperation for transformation towards digital textiles. Li expressed hope that the World Textile Merchants Conference would serve as an opportunity for participants to collectively brainstorm, consolidate consensus, contribute innovative ideas, and collaboratively propel the establishment of a new global textile industry landscape.
“Zhejiang textile industry has a profound and long history,” Qinghong Shi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, hailed the profound history and heritage of the textile industry in Zhejiang, which has been a predominant clothing supplier to the whole of China since ancient times and a crucial departure place on the old Silk Road. Zhejiang has developed competitive advantages with a well-established ecological system, distinct cluster characteristics, and a complete industrial chain through industrial transformation, infrastructure reconstruction, and the enhancement of the industry chain. Shi highlighted the provincial government’s commitment to accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the modern textile and apparel industry, aiming to elevate it to a trillion-yuan industry cluster with leading advantages and scale effects. This strategic move is expected to foster high-end, intelligent, and green development, bringing new opportunities for the industry’s leapfrog development.
Huifang Shi, Mayor of Shaoxing and Deputy Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, emphasized the textile industry’s historical significance and pivotal role in Shaoxing. Thanks to the advantages of the “industry + market” path, Shaoxing has achieved three national superlatives in the textile industry: the most complete industrial chain, the largest production capacity, and the most developed professional market, which are “golden business card” for Shaoxing to present its city attractiveness to the whole world. Being guided by the direction of “providing space for new content to realize transformation,” Shaoxing is taking the “4151” plan of making strong manufacturing cities as an instrument and targeting “green high-end, world-leading” vision, driving efforts to enhance and innovate the textile industry with a focus on clustered development, intelligent expansion, and international outreach, continually shaping new competitive advantages and improving the recognition of Shaoxing’s textile industry on a global scale.
Advancing Practical Cooperation to Forge a Community for Industrial Development Jointly
Mohamed Kassem Abd El Hay, a member of the Decision-Making Committee of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation and Chairman of the World Trading Limited (Egypt), hosted the thematic speech section of the conference.
At the meeting, Ruizhe Sun, President of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and President of China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) made a keynote speech on “Pragmatic Cooperation: Opening a Beautiful Chapter of World Modernization Together.” He pointed out that the current profound changes in the global textile industry are not only facing reality problems such as geopolitics reshaping the industrial pattern, technological revolution reshaping the industrial connotation, and green trend reshaping the industrial system, but also objective challenges such as widening gaps, trust issues, and sluggish demand. Since the beginning of this year, faced with problems such as weak demand, China’s textile industry has maintained resilience, shown a promising recovery trend, focused on science and technology, fashion, and green, actively promoted new industrialization practices, and built a modern textile industrial system. He called on the global textile to work together to promote shared prosperity, shoulder a higher cause and pattern, do what they can, and do what they are good at. “Focusing on development, integrating into the world, building partnerships in joint construction and mutual trust and benefit, and working together to make a development community that can help each other achieve success; Focusing on innovation, strengthening manufacturing, laying out future industries in multi-field and cross-cultural integration, and joining hands to build a community of innovation that supports the foundation and promotes creativity; Focusing on responsibility, protecting human rights, promoting the implementation of social responsibility in the development of green cycle, and joining hands to build a community of shared responsibility.”
In the theme sharing of “The Challenges and Opportunities of China’s Economy Under the Century of Change,” Yiming Wang, Vice Chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said that the main characteristics of the current change are the in-depth development of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution, the revolutionary transformation of manufacturing industry ecosystem, as well as the profound adjustment and change in international power balance. In this context, our country’s development is faced with the challenges of achieving a high level of self-reliance in scientific and technological innovation, strengthening the independent and controllable ability of the industrial chain and supply chain, negative population growth and aging, as well as achieving the goal of carbon peak and neutrality. He suggested that when the process of economic repair is transformed into a cycle of changing the development mode, optimizing the economic structure, and transforming the growth engine, it will undoubtedly promote sustained overall economic improvement and open a new round of growth cycle. Therefore, the industry should take the initiative to change and turn to the high-quality development track.
Three Pioneering Works of the Textile Capital – Opening a New Chapter in Modernization
The Action Plan of Keqiao District to Build a Modern “International Textile Capital” was officially released at the meeting, and Hao Chen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Keqiao District, Shaoxing, introduced the plan. He said that the plan will accelerate the construction of the “Three Highlands” of market, industry, and science and technology by the implementation of “Ten Actions” such as market evolution, promoting cloth to ready-wear, modern logistics, fashion brands, and talent science and technology, and strive to create the “Five Major Centres” in the textile sector to ensure that by 2025, the scale of Keqiao textile industry cluster will exceed CNY150 billion, the turnover of the textile city exceeded CNY450 billion, and the foreign trade import and export exceeded CNY200 billion.
Hao Chen said that Keqiao has the advantages of being the leading “market,” a firm “industry,” and the top “science and technology innovation” in China, which provides an essential foundation and support for the high-quality development of Keqiao textile. Keqiao Textile’s sales network covers 206 countries and regions, and 1/4 of the world’s fabrics are traded here yearly, with a total annual turnover of more than CNY330 billion, ranking first in China’s similar market for 32 consecutive years. In the next step, Keqiao will focus on “Fabrics Around the World” to build the world’s largest textile distribution centre, focus on “Connecting the World” to create an international textile exhibition centre, focus on “Science and Technology Empowerment” to construct a modern textile science and innovation centre, focus on “Fashion Opening” to create a textile fashion brand centre, and focus on “Cluster Gathering” to build a textile headquarters gathering centre.
The conference also held the release ceremony of the 2024 Global Textile Industry Trends Outlook and the launching ceremony of the overseas public platform “Silk Road from Keqiao, Fabrics Around the World” in China Textile City.
The organizing committee of the World Textile Merchandising Conference and dozens of top experts in the field of textile and apparel from the state ministries and commissions, authoritative research institutions at home and abroad, scientific research institutes, famous enterprises, etc. have jointly compiled the “2024 Global Textile Industry Trends Outlook.” The report takes the core values of “science and technology, fashion, and green” as the overarching theme, sorts out the development of the world’s textile industry and industrial structure changes, and compares the global textile industry’s geographical advantages and development gaps. By analysing and judging the global economic pattern and industrial ecological layout, it points out the future development trends of the industry that are driven by science and technology, digital and physical integration and creation, cultural leadership, and responsibility orientation. Interpreting and analysing the innovation achievements and practice cases of the whole industry chain and multiple dimensions will guide the products toward high quality, high performance, high value, and high standards. It provides a reference and practical suggestions for the production and upgrading transition of the global textile industry enterprises.
The “Belt and Road Initiative” has accelerated the pace of the global layout of China’s textile industry and accelerated the depth of internationalization of Keqiao Textile “going out” and ” bringing in.” China Textile City’s overseas public platform “Silk Road from Keqiao, Fabrics Around the World” builds a new international trade system of “overseas station, overseas pavilion, and overseas warehouse,” the first phase of which has been launched in Milan (Italy), Seoul (South Korea), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dubai (UAE) and Istanbul (Turkey). The program has created a new platform for overseas service of China Textile City, stepped out of a systematic, large-scale, standardized road to the sea, and injected a new power drive to enhance Keqiao Textile’s industry discourse and international influence.
China’s Textile Industry Inherits Innovation to the Future
In the “Textile Industry in China” session, Yonghua Wu, Executive Director and Co-CEO of Anta Sports Goods Limited, said in his speech “Towards a Sustainable Future,” Anta adheres to the development strategy of “One Focus, Multi-brand, and Globalization.” It fully satisfies the diversified sports pursuits of global consumers, from professional sports to fashion and outdoor sports. In the future, sustainable development will play an essential role in Anta Group’s development plan. To put ESG into practice, the Group has put forward the “1+3+5” sustainable development strategy roadmap. Anta will continue to adhere to the quality track of sports shoes and apparel, match the market demand with “multi-brand,” deepen the layout of “globalization,” achieve sustainable and high-quality development, and work hard to realize the vision of the world’s leading sporting goods group.
“There is still much room for sustainability in the textile industry. Transiting from linear to circular economy is both a challenge and an opportunity.” Mr. Florian Heubrandner, Executive Vice President of the Austrian Lenzing Group, shared his perspectives on “Circularity – The New Business Model.” He expressed that the global fibre market has experienced many challenges recently, but the long-term belief in demand growth remains unchanged. Lenzing Group aims to contribute to the textile industry’s sustainable and circular fashion by providing innovative solutions for recycling raw materials and offering high-quality cellulose fibres based on renewable natural materials, committed to creating a more sustainable and circular textile industry.
At the themed sharing event titled “Empowering Digitalization, Green Development, and Contributing to the Construction of a Modern Textile Industry System,” Hongxia Zhang, who is the party secretary and general manager of Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Limited, emphasized their company’s dedication to the physical economy and development in manufacturing. Over 40 years, Weiqiao has established complete closed-loop industrial chains in textiles and aluminium. The company vigorously implemented a “digital empowerment” strategy to optimize and upgrade industrial and product structures and actively built a green production system to promote green and low-carbon development. Weiqiao will uphold the development principle of “entrepreneurship for the nation and benefits for the people,” actively promoting the enterprise’s transformation towards high-end, intelligent, and green development directions. Weiqiao is committed to becoming a world-leading manufacturing enterprise with long-term competitiveness.
Renowned media figure and Chairman of Sunshine Media Group, Lan Yang, delivered a presentation titled “From Inheriting Intangible Cultural Heritage to Creating Everything New.” She expressed that Chinese aesthetics once significantly influenced Western aesthetics and craftsmanship. Rejuvenating traditional intangible cultural heritage through contemporary Chinese trends revitalizes and integrates these heritage elements into everyday life. This cultural innovation facilitates the internationalization of Chinese brands, transforming “Made in China” into “Created in China,” shifting from “Chinese speed” to “Chinese quality,” and evolving from “Chinese products” to “Chinese brands.” “It is an era that endows us with unparalleled opportunities. We need to infuse Chinese brands with a soul, a soul deeply connected to our rich national culture and genuine emotions. Only by illuminating brands with culture, enlightening innovation with leadership, and driving industry development with innovation can China’s textile industry have a promising future,” said Lan Yang.
ITMF Leadership Transition, Continuing the Dream of Global Industrial Symbiosis
The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), with a history of 119 years, serves as a crucial platform for enhancing industry consensus and strengthening global value chain cooperation, playing an irreplaceable role in promoting innovation and sustainable development in the global textile and apparel industry.
During the handover ceremony of the ITMF presidency, K.V. Srinivasan, the newly appointed President, presented the ITMF commemorative silver plate to Ruizhe Sun, thanking him for successfully fulfilling ITMF’s mission during his three-year term (October 2020 – October 2023) and for his significant efforts and selfless dedication to the integrated development and mutually beneficial cooperation of the global textile industry.
Ruizhe Sun, reflecting on the past three years of achievements, articulated three expectations for the future development of ITMF: to continue adhering to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, promoting innovation, cooperation, steady recovery, and sustainable development of the global textile industry; to leverage the leadership role of a worldwide industry organization to enhance the industry’s resilience and safety levels through open cooperation; and to continue exploring and taking action in the areas of think tanks, awards, and standards, unleashing the industry’s growth potential and paving the way for a bright future.
Revitalizing Keqiao Textile and Weaving a Modern Industrial World
From “fabric street by the water” to “fabric all over the world,” from ancient Yue silk to fashionable neon dresses, Keqiao takes “textile” as a medium, focusing on “science and technology, fashion, and green,” and promotes the industrial development toward high-end, integration, and intensive growth. It has become an essential node of the world’s textile industry and the textile model of Chinese modernization.
Jian Yuan, the District Chief and the Deputy Secretary of the Keqiao Party Committee said that Keqiao is famous for its textiles and has become prosperous for textile trading. The city has formed a unique advantage of “Industry + Market + Technology Innovation” after years of development. Currently, Keqiao’s groundnut-like economy is developing everywhere. It is deeply integrated into the international textile economic and trade system. Keqiao increasingly become the global textile’s symbolic hub-type market. The industry development is moving towards a new trend of providing the space for new content and accelerating digital, intelligence, and green transformation to build a world-class modern textile cluster. Science and technology innovations are booming, which are employed to construct a modern provincial-level textile technology innovation centre, make a high-standard Hangzhou Base Science Innovation Centre, and create a strong attraction place for innovation elements and incubation transformation booster.
It is another starting point of the journey since the “Belt and Road Initiative” has been proposed for ten years, and the “Double Eight” strategy has been implemented for 20 years. Keqiao opens a new chapter for global industry cooperation by taking the opportunities from the 2023 International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) Keqiao Conference in Shaoxing, China, and the 6th World Textile Merchandising Conference Themed Conference. As Jian Yuan said: “Revitalizing the textile industry is our eternal theme and common mission. We are willing to strengthen comprehensive cooperation, optimize the business environment, take the lead, and create a beautiful future with our worldwide counterparts!”