On the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the national 'Two Excellences and One First' commendation list includes several figures and collectives from the textile industry, sending clear signals of industrial transformation. From the chairman of Shandong Weiqiao to the grassroots party branch secretary of Zhongshan Xiahua, from Hengli Petrochemical's million-ton ethylene project to Jilin Carbon Valley's carbon fiber precursor capacity, these cases are not only honors but also indicators of industrial upgrading.
Background
On July 1, a grand conference was held at the Great Hall of the People, honoring 149 outstanding Communist Party members, 150 outstanding party affairs workers, and 399 advanced grassroots party organizations. The textile sector secured multiple seats, including Zhang Bo, chairman of Shandong Weiqiao, and Mi Xuemei, party branch member of Zhongshan Xiahua, as outstanding party members; and eight collectives such as the party committees of Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian), Jilin Carbon Valley Carbon Fiber, and Changzhou Hualida Garment Group as advanced grassroots organizations.
These honorees cover the entire textile chain from chemical fiber and carbon fiber to garment manufacturing, with most achieving landmark technological breakthroughs or capacity scales. For instance, Hengli completed a 20-million-ton refining-chemical integration project in 19 months and the world's largest 1.5-million-ton ethylene project in 13 months at its Changxing Island park, breaking foreign monopolies on key chemical raw materials and reducing domestic textile industry import dependence.
Jilin Carbon Valley's inclusion highlights the strategic importance of new materials. With 190,000 tons of precursor capacity, it is now the world's largest carbon fiber precursor producer, reshaping the global competitive landscape for high-end textiles and composites.
Industry Impact
Several universal trends emerge from these benchmark cases.
First, technological autonomy has become the core moat for corporate competitiveness. Hengli's refining projects and Jilin Carbon Valley's output both point to import substitution. For fabric and yarn companies along the textile chain, upstream raw material self-sufficiency means lower cost volatility and stronger supply chain resilience. Buyers should prioritize suppliers with independent R&D capabilities in key materials or processes.
Second, green manufacturing is shifting from slogan to hard requirement. Hengli's in-house 'embedded wastewater treatment' technology achieves stable effluent COD below 15 mg/L and full water reuse, earning it national 'Green Factory' status. This technical path is directly applicable to printing and dyeing clusters like Keqiao and Shengze, where environmental compliance can become a brand premium and entry barrier rather than a cost burden.
Third, global layout runs parallel to headquarters economy. Hualida Garment operates five factories with 15,000 employees in Vietnam while strengthening domestic headquarters R&D and high-end manufacturing. Its airbag production line outputs 130,000 units daily, and it has shifted from imported fabric to fully integrated weaving, coating, and sewing. This 'domestic HQ + overseas capacity' model is becoming the standard solution to trade barriers and rising labor costs.
Fourth, grassroots party building is tightly linked to industrial worker transformation. Mi Xuemei organized skill training at Xiahua, pushing workers toward technical and knowledge-based roles, with over 100 lectures delivered. This reflects the urgent need for human capital upgrading amid automation waves. For factory managers, internal training systems to retain technical talent will directly affect automation efficiency.