The Chinese Textile Industry as a Whole Needs to Upgrade Completely

The Chinese textile industry as a whole needs to upgrade completely, said participants at the China Cotton and Textile Industry Development Forum held in New York.
 
China has witnessed rapid economic development over the last 30 years, which has improved people’s standard of living, said Lei Zhaohui, deputy general manager of Hebei Shengyuan Textile Co. Ltd.
 
As a result, Chinese textile enterprises are facing problems of high labour costs, while the costs of raw material and energy have also significantly increased during the period, he added.
 
According to Lei, China’s textile industry needs substantial upgradation at this juncture. First, the textile enterprises need to adjust their product structure by switching from manufacturing of low value-added products to high value-added products.
 
Second, there is need to improve the level of refinement, especially by enhancing managerial and technical capabilities.
 
Third, there is a need to integrate the complete textile industrial chain by establishing close ties between the upstream and downstream, from raw material like cotton to the final brand, as well as from R&D to sales. There should be strategic cooperative relations throughout the entire textile and garment value chain.
 
Lastly, there should be active expansion in the field of marketing. Textiles and garments need to be produced and marketed for medical, construction and industrial sectors, besides the conventional ones. The industries should also focus on aerospace and other strategic emerging industries, where textile fibre applications are widely used and it can give a new impetus and support to the Chinese textile industry.
 
Speaking at the Forum, China National Cotton Reserves Corporation (CNCRC) official Liu Hua said since China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the domestic textile industry has developed rapidly.
 
Liu added that rapid expansion of textile production capacity meant increased demand for cotton.
 
However, owing to China’s cotton purchase and storage policy implemented for the past two years, there is big price difference between domestic cotton and international cotton.
 
In the given scenario, Chinese textile enterprises need to speed up the pace of technological innovation, and undertake overall restructuring and upgradation.
 
The Forum was jointly organized by CNCRC and Intercontinental Exchange.