China's textile and apparel foreign trade in the first half of 2026 delivered a seemingly stable yet turbulent report card. Data released by the General Administration of Customs on July 14 showed total exports of textiles and apparel from January to June reached $145.96 billion, up 1.4% year-on-year, still at a historically high level. However, what truly deserves industry attention is the June single-month export value of $29.27 billion, surging 7.2% year-on-year and soaring 14.3% month-on-month—behind these figures lies the early start of overseas autumn/winter stocking, and a deeper structural dependence of global supply chains on China's textile production capacity.
Upstream Intermediates as Growth Stabilizers
The most prominent feature of the first-half export data is the clear divergence between upstream and downstream categories. Textile exports reached $73 billion, up 3.5% year-on-year, with yarn exports growing 6.6% and fabric exports only slightly declining 0.5%; while apparel exports stood at $72.96 billion, down 0.7% year-on-year. In June alone, textile exports surged 12.2% year-on-year, far exceeding apparel's 3.2% growth.
This divergence is no coincidence. Overseas brands are generally adopting low-inventory strategies, sharply reducing long-term apparel orders and frequently purchasing semi-finished products like yarn and fabric to quickly respond to end-market changes. China boasts a one-stop industrial chain from chemical fibers, spinning, dyeing and finishing to finished products, with delivery efficiency and product quality hard to replicate elsewhere. This means upstream intermediates are becoming the 'ballast stone' of textile and apparel foreign trade, and their order resilience directly determines the stability of the overall trade volume.
U.S. Market as Half-Year's Biggest Driver, Demand Fragmentation Across Regions
First-five-month export data clearly outline the uneven global market landscape. The U.S. market emerged as the brightest growth driver in the first half: export growth rate of textiles and apparel to the U.S. expanded by 15 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The summit between Chinese and U.S. leaders stabilized bilateral trade expectations, and with overseas brands completing inventory destocking, buyers have significantly increased procurement from China's supply chain.
In contrast, traditional mature markets like the EU, Japan, and South Korea continued to see weakening growth momentum. The EU is mired in inflation woes from high energy costs, dampening residents' apparel consumption willingness; ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea are constrained by regional situations and rising energy prices, leading to a synchronized decline in imports of textiles and apparel from China. The phased easing of the Middle East situation and falling shipping costs became important short-term positives for June's export recovery. This regional divergence means exporters can no longer rely on a single market and must accelerate global diversification.
Apparel OEM Under Pressure, Intensifying Competition
Apparel exports fell 0.7% year-on-year, though the decline narrowed by 0.9 percentage points from the same period last year, overall pressure has not eased. The entry barrier for apparel OEM is relatively low, and issues of international capacity diversion (e.g., to Southeast Asia and South Asia) and low-price competition are prominent, continuously squeezing profit margins for Chinese OEM factories. The 21% month-on-month surge in apparel exports in June was mainly driven by concentrated replenishment for autumn/winter stocking, rather than a fundamental demand recovery.
Under the RMB-denominated calculation, first-half apparel exports were 505.8 billion yuan, down 4.2% year-on-year, while cost pressures (raw materials, labor, energy) faced by apparel manufacturers are rising. This means the model of relying solely on scale expansion is no longer sustainable, and companies must transition toward product innovation, branding, or vertical supply chain integration.
Challenges Remain in H2, but Industrial Foundation is Solid
Looking ahead to the second half, the global economy still faces triple pressures from rising energy prices, inflation, and monetary policy tightening. World Bank warnings indicate that overseas end-consumption recovery is weak, and stabilizing scale while optimizing structure for textile and apparel exports will face multiple challenges. Weak consumer markets in Europe and the U.S., persistently high production costs, and capacity competition from fragmented global trade will continue to test companies.
However, China's complete textile industrial chain and efficient delivery capabilities remain an irreplaceable core competitiveness. The June export rebound has injected confidence into the industry and pointed the way forward: abandon the extensive model of low-price volume, and shift toward leveraging industrial chain advantages, product innovation, and global diversification. If companies can timely adjust product structures and market strategies, the foreign trade landscape in the second half still has solid support for stable operation.