In 2025, Zhejiang's textile industry achieved 1.12 trillion yuan in revenue and 95.33 billion USD in exports, maintaining its national lead. But this number did not ease industry concerns. At the Zhejiang Textile Industry High-Quality Development Conference held in Keqiao, Shaoxing on May 8, 2026, over 200 representatives from government, industry, academia, and research focused not on 'how to stay first' but on 'how can upstream firms survive' and 'should we continue to trade scale for survival'.
Hidden Concerns Behind the Data: The Tipping Point from Leadership to Transformation
The 1.12 trillion yuan revenue proves Zhejiang textiles' role as an economic anchor, but internal differentiation is intensifying. Zhao Jing, deputy director of the Consumer Goods Division of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, acknowledged that the industry withstood pressure—pressure from dual squeezes of global demand fluctuations and rising costs. The China Textile City, with annual turnover exceeding 440 billion yuan and connections to over 200 countries and regions, does not guarantee linear profit growth. Sun Weiting, chairman of Huafu Fashion, bluntly stated during a Q&A session: 'Profit more in the first half, lose less in the second half, and guard cash flow and profit margins throughout the year'—not pessimism, but a sober assessment of the operating environment.
Digital transformation has become a key lever for breakthroughs. Xiao Ruofa, executive deputy general manager of Shaoxing Huansi Smart Technology, outlined implementation paths during a special report: from single-point automation to full-chain data integration, requiring not just equipment upgrades but management process restructuring. Zhang Tangjun, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Jincai New Materials, highlighted functional masterbatch as a core weapon for adding value and avoiding homogeneous competition. These technical paths underscore a growing consensus: 'High-quality development cannot be simply understood as increasing investment.'
Industrial Ecosystem Restructuring: From Solitary to Collaborative
The conference's co-location with the Keqiao Spring Textile Fair signals a need for tighter market-industry integration. The Zhejiang Textile Industry Association signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Textile and Apparel Weekly magazine to strengthen industrial think-tank functions through multi-media content co-creation. Simultaneously, the association and the Zhejiang Textile Engineering Society established six professional committees covering fiber materials, spinning technology, weaving, home textiles, textile machinery and smart manufacturing, and sustainable development—aiming to integrate academic depth with industrial breadth and avoid resource duplication. This 'open linking' ecosystem thinking is replacing the past model of individual enterprises fighting alone.
During the 'Pioneer Think Tank' session, seven front-line enterprises from sectors like circular recycling, green manufacturing, and smart upgrades shared practical experiences. Zhejiang Jiaoren New Materials focused on circular recycling; Zhejiang Guxian Road Green Fiber concentrated on green fibers—these cases show Zhejiang's textile industry shifting from 'big and comprehensive' to 'specialized and refined', with each niche potentially birthing new growth poles.