As artificial intelligence evolves from a point tool to a full-chain infrastructure, the competitive rules of the global textile industry are being rewritten. The 9th World Textile Merchandising Conference, scheduled for November 2026 in Keqiao, Zhejiang, signals a clear industry judgment: digital intelligence is no longer optional but a watershed determining industrial ranking.
Signals Behind the Data
Keqiao's GDP reached 122 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 7.0% year-on-year; exports from January to July totaled 110.34 billion yuan, an increase of 16%; and the China Textile City saw total transaction volume of 268.36 billion yuan, up 9.1%. These figures stand out in the current global trade environment, indicating that textile clusters like Keqiao are countering external uncertainties through market upgrading and open connectivity. For buyers, this data suggests that supply chain stability and efficiency are concentrating in advantageous regions, and order flows may further tilt toward such hub markets.
AI and Green: Reshaping the Industry's Underlying Logic
The industry widely recognizes that the global textile sector stands at three turning points: shifting from efficiency-first to a balance of security and resilience; AI moving from single-point empowerment to whole-chain reshaping; and green development transitioning from conceptual consensus to hard constraints. These trends are not isolated—AI-driven precise carbon footprint accounting offers a technical antidote to green trade barriers, while cross-border digital intelligence cooperation channels become a new lever for maintaining supply chain security. This implies that corporate competitiveness in the next five years will depend on embedding AI across R&D, production, and trading processes, not merely purchasing a few smart devices.
Keqiao's 'World-Class' Ambition and Implementation Path
Keqiao has proposed three goals: building a world-class market, a world-class industrial base, and a world-class sci-tech innovation platform, supported by a '3+X' high-level innovation platform matrix and a 'university + platform + enterprise + industrial chain' four-party linkage mechanism. Notably, the China Textile City is shifting from 'competing on scale' to 'competing on value,' through differentiated renovation under a 'one market, one feature' strategy and the 'Silk Road Keqiao · Fabric to the World' initiative, aiming for a more proactive position in the global marketing network. For factories, this signals that Keqiao is no longer just a hub for low-cost orders but a testing ground for branding and digital trade, prompting OEM enterprises to reassess the value dimensions of cooperating with this industrial belt.
Three Wind Vanes from the Conference
The upcoming conference will send three clear signals: first, global intelligence gathering, with experts from China, the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and other countries discussing new growth drivers; second, cutting-edge achievements release, including major reports like the '2027 World Textile Industry Trend Outlook,' providing decision-making references for the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan; third, ecosystem synergy expansion, with over ten concurrent activities forming a linked matrix, advancing the transition from a single exhibition to a normalized cooperation mechanism. These actions indicate that the industry is moving from 'selling products' to 'selling standards and solutions,' and the value of participation is shifting from information acquisition to rule co-construction.