One out of every five sweaters worldwide comes from Dalang, Dongguan. Behind this statistic lies an industrial cluster with an annual transaction volume exceeding 72 billion yuan and a garment output of over 900 million pieces per year. At the opening of the 95th International Wool Textile Conference on June 24, Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), delivered a clear message: China's textile industry is providing certainty for global supply chain stability.
With the IMF downgrading global growth expectations to 3.1% and geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions persisting, clusters like Dalang act as stabilizers. China processes over 60 million tons of fiber annually, produces more than 70 billion garments, and has exported over $300 billion worth of textiles for six consecutive years. These figures represent not static scale but dynamic resilience.
Technology Dividends and Smart Restructuring
The key variable for industrial upgrading is technology. China's textile enterprises above a designated size have increased R&D spending intensity from 1% to 1.3%, and high-performance fiber capacity now accounts for over one-third of the global total. More noteworthy is the digitalization rate: 63.2% across key processes, higher than the national manufacturing average. In 2024, 30 textile companies were included in the 5G factory list.
What does this mean? For the wool sector, the impact of smart manufacturing is quantifiable. The case of Jiangsu Yueda Textile is telling: labor per 10,000 spindles dropped by about 70%, overall labor productivity increased more than fourfold, and unit energy consumption fell by 15%. This is no lab data; it is a proven commercial reality.
For buyers, smart manufacturing translates into more stable delivery times and fewer quality fluctuations. For factories, cost structures are being redefined—labor costs are declining while computing power and equipment depreciation are rising. This shift will force companies to rethink capacity allocation.
Brand Globalization and Consumption Polarization
Global consumer markets are fragmenting. Demand for health, emotional connection, and self-expression is rising, and social media accelerates information flow. Sun emphasized that the industry must shift from "manufacturing" to "serving the full lifecycle of consumers."
Chinese brands have found breakthroughs. Anta and Shein have entered the world's top 500 brands, while Erdos and Shenzhou International have deepened global engagement through cross-border M&A and multi-brand operations. Guochao (national trend) design is no longer a domestic topic; it has become a new element in global fashion.
But branding comes with market divergence. Retail sales of garments, shoes, and hats above a designated size grew 8.1% year-on-year, while garment exports fell 1.6%. Domestic demand is warming, but external demand is under pressure. Companies must manage both markets' rhythms simultaneously.
Survival Rules Under New Paradigms
Sun proposed two new paradigms: the intelligent economy and the experience economy. The former is driven by data and algorithms; the latter by emotion and scenarios. They are not contradictory; in the wool industry, they converge.
The impact of the intelligent economy is already visible. The global AI market is expected to exceed $900 billion by 2026, and AI agents are entering the workforce in large numbers. The wool industry is not an observer—Annuoqi has built a chain from dyes to AI design, and Semir's AI-assisted design system has improved pattern design efficiency by over 200%.
The core of the experience economy is "people." Consumers no longer just buy a sweater; they buy health, comfort, and cultural identity. As a natural fiber, wool gains a premium in sustainability and health trends. This is a unique advantage over synthetics.