While most textile specialty markets remain mired in low-price competition, a knitwear cluster with annual transactions exceeding 20 billion yuan is rewriting the playbook. In September 2026, Jiaxing Honghe launched an integrated domestic-international trade service center—a 4,000-square-meter space that encapsulates the ambitions of an industry belt with five decades of history.
From Trading Floor to Service Complex
The transformation of Honghe's knitwear industry is essentially a systematic reassessment of the role of specialty markets. Previously, markets were pure transaction venues where merchants earned margins. Now, the new service center integrates four functional modules—service, trade, brand, and incubation—signaling that the market is evolving to provide enterprises with full-chain support including R&D design, third-party quality inspection, customs brokerage, logistics, and intellectual property protection. For buyers, this means they are no longer dealing with scattered workshops but an industrial community with stable quality control and delivery capabilities.
This shift is underpinned by clear data. The center previously operated as the 'Maoshan Pai' cross-border e-commerce platform for two years, organizing over 200 local enterprises to explore markets in more than ten countries and attracting nearly a thousand overseas buyers to Honghe. The 1,200-square-meter foreign trade selection center is divided into zones for Japan-Korea, Middle East, South America, Russia-Europe-Central Asia, allowing international buyers to precisely select products on-site. This demand-driven display logic directly reduces the decision-making cost of foreign trade procurement.
The Path to Dual Circulation
The most noteworthy aspect of the Honghe model is its concrete approach to integrating domestic and international trade. The trade module is not simply an additional export department; it physically restructures the procurement process—overseas buyers can complete selection, ordering, quality inspection, and logistics coordination under one roof. Combined with the smooth operation of international cargo routes at Jiaxing Nanhu Airport and the accelerated development of the airport new city, Honghe's airport-proximity advantage is translating into tangible logistics efficiency.
For factories, this model offers an opportunity to optimize order structures. Traditional foreign trade relies on high-volume, low-margin OEM orders, whereas the new center promotes 'small-batch, quick-response' manufacturing and AI design tools, enabling enterprises to handle flexible orders from overseas SME buyers. Industry experts at the event highlighted that 'consumer demand now guides upstream production,' pointing to the core logic for specialty markets—no longer selling what is produced, but capturing consumption trends through distribution channels and transmitting them to manufacturing.
The Moat of Regional Branding
The simultaneous signing of strategic cooperation agreements for knitwear export and international logistics, along with the establishment of an IP and brand guidance station, reveals a deeper intention: shifting from selling products to selling brands. Previously, the competitiveness of industrial clusters rested on cost advantages; now, Honghe aims to build a barrier through a regional public brand. For buyers from cities like Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, a regional brand implies more credible quality commitments and a more consistent style identity.
The success of this branding transformation hinges on whether the incubation module's tiered training system works effectively. From policy guidance for individual workshops, to digitalization support for SMEs, to global expansion for larger enterprises, Honghe is constructing a stepwise growth path. If this system functions smoothly, it could provide a replicable route for similar clusters nationwide to leap from low-end processing to high-end intelligent manufacturing.
Challenges and Prospects
Of course, the Honghe model is not without concerns. Integrating domestic and international trade requires sustained infrastructure investment and cross-departmental coordination, while SMEs' varying digital capabilities may slow the overall transformation pace. Additionally, policy volatility in overseas markets and logistics cost fluctuations could directly affect the stability of foreign trade operations. Nevertheless, from a long-term industry perspective, Honghe's choice represents the inevitable direction of specialty market evolution—from a mere physical space to a comprehensive platform integrating trade, services, and innovation.