One out of every five sweaters globally comes from Dalang, Dongguan. This town, defined by its woolen knitting industry, has achieved an annual transaction value exceeding 72 billion yuan across its entire industrial chain. On June 24, the 95th International Wool Textile Conference opened here, and Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), delivered a keynote speech revealing a core judgment: the wool textile industry is shifting from a traditional path reliant on scale and system to a new paradigm driven by both the intelligent economy and the experience economy.
Industry Fundamentals: Scale Advantages Coexist with Transformation Pressures
China's textile industry still possesses astonishing scale. Annual fiber processing volume exceeds 60 million tons, and annual garment production surpasses 70 billion pieces, both accounting for more than half of the global total. Exports have exceeded $300 billion for six consecutive years, with strong exports of intermediate goods like chemical fibers and fabrics providing stable support for the global supply chain. However, the industry is not without worries. From January to April this year, revenue of enterprises above designated size fell by 0.3% year-on-year, while total profit rose counter-trend by 19.3%, with a profit margin of only 2.9%. This contrast indicates that companies have worked hard to cut costs and improve efficiency, but sluggish revenue growth remains a concern. Fixed asset investment data shows further divergence: textile industry investment grew by 10.8%, while the apparel and chemical fiber industries fell by 10.3% and 14.5% respectively. Capital is accelerating towards technology upgrading, while traditional capacity expansion has significantly contracted.
The Impact of the Intelligent Economy: AI Reshapes Production and Organization
Sun emphasized the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on the textile industry. The global AI market size in 2025 is expected to reach $757.58 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.7%. In China, the daily average token calls have exceeded 140 trillion, up over 40% from the end of last year. This means AI has moved from concept to large-scale application. The intelligent transformation of the textile industry is accelerating: the digitalization rate of key links in the entire industry has reached 63.2%, higher than the national manufacturing average. The 'Lighthouse Factory' case of Jiangsu Yueda Textile is representative: the number of workers per 10,000 spindles decreased by about 70%, overall labor productivity increased more than fourfold, and unit energy consumption fell by 15%. Semir's AI-assisted design system increased R&D efficiency by 35% and pattern design efficiency by over 200%. These data point to a clear direction: intelligent manufacturing is no longer an option but a survival threshold. For industrial clusters like Dalang, the traditional labor-intensive model must transform towards human-machine collaboration, otherwise they will lose their advantage in cost and efficiency competition.
The Rise of the Experience Economy: Consumption Diversification Forces Brand Upgrades
The global consumer market is undergoing ecological restructuring. Consumers are stratified and segmented, with health, emotional connection, and self-expression becoming core demands. Social media and intelligent recommendations have changed product discovery and decision-making paths. Sun pointed out that the wool textile industry must shift from 'selling products' to 'selling experiences'. The global popularity of Chinese-style trends is a typical example: Anta, Shein, and other companies have entered the global top 500 brands. Hengli, Weiqiao, Erdos, and Shenzhou International have deeply participated in international competition through cross-border mergers and global layout. For wool textile enterprises, pure price competition is no longer viable; they must establish differentiation in design, cultural connotation, and personalized services. As a major global producer of woolen products, Dalang's enterprises should seize this trend, combining manufacturing advantages with brand value to avoid falling into the low-price OEM trap.