When the annual output value of curtain fabrics approaches 70 billion yuan in Keqiao and cross-border online transactions reach 800 to 900 million US dollars, the industry still struggles with declining profits and price wars. The 2026 China Home Textile Association Upholstery Branch Annual Meeting sent a clear signal: the era of scale dividends is over, and the next round of competition will be won by composite capabilities in design, technology, and channels.
Data Behind the Industry Reality
China Light Textile City's transaction volume exceeded 440 billion yuan in 2025, with nearly 8,000 curtain fabric enterprises in Keqiao generating an annual output value of about 70 billion yuan—this is the hard power of the industrial belt. However, the industry's exports showed a volume increase with price decline, and corporate profits came under pressure, squeezed by the real estate downturn and rising raw material costs. The first half of the year saw steady growth in production and sales, but weak demand and trade fluctuations undermined the quality of growth.
These figures together depict a typical stock competition scenario: output is rising, unit prices are falling, costs are climbing, and margins are thinning. For buyers, this means the era of simple price comparison is ending; only those who offer differentiated value can maintain pricing power.
Three Major Transformation Directions Emerge
The agenda at the annual meeting outlined a clear roadmap for the industry's breakthrough. First, original design is being pushed to the forefront—addressing product homogeneity, a brand consultant proposed returning to real home scenarios, combining temperature control, antibacterial functions with healing colors, and building a product matrix of image, profit, and traffic models. This essentially transforms design from a cost item into an asset, using unified language to build brand recognition.
Second, AI technology is moving from concept to application. A team from Donghua University demonstrated an AI intelligent color matching system, using a massive dye database to solve digital printing color difference issues, and established a fiber polarization image library for non-destructive rapid identification of fabric composition via CNN deep learning. Another tech company proposed a spatial AI solution, using world models for space parsing and one-click material replacement, significantly reducing sampling and photography costs. These technologies mean factories can hand over experience-based tasks to algorithms, freeing human resources for higher value-added work.
Third, overseas channels are shifting from extensive expansion to refined operation. TikTok covers over 150 countries with 2 billion monthly active users, and home furnishing categories in Southeast Asia and Latin America are growing faster than the global average. A practitioner shared a combined approach of immersive short videos, local influencers, and industrial belt traceability live streaming, and broke down a three-tier product matrix for cross-border stores: basic, functional, and co-branded. For industrial belts like Keqiao, overseas markets are no longer a supplement but a second growth curve.
The Baton Effect of Policies and Standards
At the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, industry authorities clearly proposed six major goals: improving global diversified supply chains, tapping into domestic soft furnishing renewal demand, activating new quality productive forces with AI and industry-academia-research integration, building independent brands with Chinese home textile aesthetics, implementing full-chain carbon footprint standards, and establishing healthy sleep laboratories. These directions are not empty words; they will translate into specific subsidies, certifications, and procurement thresholds.
Particularly noteworthy is the promotion of carbon footprint standards. Once full-chain carbon footprint accounting becomes a hard requirement, enterprises that have prepared green processes in advance will gain an advantage in export markets—environmental scrutiny in markets like the EU will only tighten. For factories, not taking action now could mean losing bidding qualifications in the future.
Event Landing: Keqiao's Hub Role
The choice of Keqiao as the venue is not accidental. With a complete industrial chain from fibers to finished products, plus the ongoing "Silk Road Keqiao · Fabrics to the World" initiative, Keqiao is attempting to upgrade from a production and distribution hub to a comprehensive service platform integrating design, technology, and overseas expansion. The industry association has made clear that it will regularly hold themed exchange meetings and industrial chain docking events, meaning Keqiao is not just the host but may become a pilot zone for the transformation of the upholstery industry.
For other industrial clusters nationwide, Keqiao's actions have a bellwether effect. Traditional categories like curtain fabrics are being redefined as soft furnishing solutions that integrate technology and aesthetics—whoever completes this cognitive upgrade first will secure a ticket to the next round of competition.