When overcapacity and environmental pressure become the norm, the textile industry in Xiqiao, Nanhai, Guangdong, has chosen to respond by 'uniting'. In early August, the Nanhai District Textile Industry Association completed its eighth leadership transition. The new council not only changed its leadership but also launched three major initiatives: an industrial co-building proposal, a green intelligent manufacturing platform, and a cross-regional denim alliance. The goal is clear—to push the local textile industry toward a 20-billion-yuan industrial cluster. Behind this move is a direct response to the era of 'stock competition' in traditional textile towns.
Background
Founded in 1996, the Nanhai District Textile Industry Association is rooted in Xiqiao and serves the entire district, with over 400 member enterprises covering the whole industrial chain from weaving, dyeing, and finishing to garments. In this election, Huang Jiewen, chairman of Foshan Mingjie Textile Co., Ltd., was elected as the new council president, and Liang Yaohang, general manager of Foshan Nanhai Deyao Textile Industrial Co., Ltd., was elected as the chief supervisor. Notably, the new president explicitly proposed implementing the national 'Four Good' chamber of commerce spirit, solidifying routine industrial chain services, and deepening the 'six-core engine' industrial strategy. This signals a shift in the association's role from a 'liaison station' to an 'industrial operator'.
The 'Nanhai Textile Industry Healthy Ecosystem Co-building Proposal' issued at the meeting explicitly incorporates 'quality-based fair competition', directly targeting the pain point of low-price involution in the industry. Meanwhile, Xiqiao Town launched an environmental 'one enterprise, one policy' plan, centered on 'one file per enterprise, one policy per enterprise, one help per enterprise' to conduct full-coverage 'environmental health checks'. For textile clusters densely populated with SMEs, this refined environmental governance model may change the past 'one-size-fits-all' enforcement logic and reduce uncertainty in compliance costs.
Industrial Impact
Among the three initiatives, the most noteworthy is the 'Guangdong Denim Apparel and Fabric Industry Collaborative Development Alliance'. Initiated by the Guangdong Textile Association, it unites four major denim clusters: Nanhai Xiqiao, Shunde Jun'an, Guangzhou Xintang, and Zhongshan Dadong. Previously, these clusters operated independently, with scattered capacity and severe homogenized competition. The alliance's establishment means that dispersed capacity will be integrated into a coordinated industrial chain, improving the efficiency of matching fabrics and garments. For buyers, denim orders may no longer require cross-province supplier searches; regional collaborative delivery capabilities will become a new competitive advantage.
The launch of the green intelligent manufacturing platform also sends a clear policy signal: environmental protection is no longer a cost burden for enterprises but an entry threshold to the market. Xiqiao Town regards the textile industry as a core sector for old-new growth driver conversion, building a '3+3' modern industrial system and promoting AI technology penetration throughout the production process. This implies that over the next two years, equipment renewal and digital transformation among Xiqiao textile enterprises will accelerate. Those who obtain the 'green card' will gain an advantage in order acquisition.
For factories, the new president's 'six-core engine' strategy and 'Four Good' chamber spirit suggest that the association will more deeply engage in technological upgrading and brand building. However, the challenge is equally clear: among the 400-plus member enterprises, SMEs account for a high proportion, and the capital and technical thresholds for digital transformation may become a dividing line. Those who first complete environmental compliance and digital upgrades will reap the cluster dividends first, while laggards may be marginalized.