While the global textile industry still grapples with inventory cycles and demand volatility, Keqiao in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, has posted a counter-trend performance: H1 2025 GDP reached RMB 122 billion, up 7.0% year-on-year; exports from January to July hit RMB 110.34 billion, up 16%; and the China Textile City's total turnover reached RMB 268.36 billion, up 9.1%. These figures are not just regional highlights—they signal a fundamental shift in China's textile competition logic for the 15th Five-Year Plan period: from scale to value, from efficiency-first to a balance of security and resilience.
The Twin Axes: Digital Intelligence and Resilience
At a Shanghai press conference on August 26, Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, stated bluntly that the global textile industry stands at a new crossroads. His three judgments deserve close attention from buyers and manufacturers: industrial layout is shifting from efficiency-first to security and resilience; AI is moving from point solutions to full-chain reshaping; and green development is evolving from a consensus concept to hard constraints. This means supply chains that merely pursue low cost and fast delivery are becoming obsolete, replaced by comprehensive considerations of traceability, carbon footprint, and digital collaboration.
For international buyers, the implication is clear: price weight will decline in supplier evaluations, while digital maturity, green certifications, and emergency response capabilities become key indicators. Keqiao's 'one project, one mechanism, one pilot, one action' framework is a direct response to this trend—through market renovation and digital empowerment, it aims to provide global buyers with a more stable and transparent sourcing base.
The Keqiao Model: From Market to Ecosystem
Keqiao's ambition extends beyond maintaining its 'International Textile Capital' status. District Mayor Jing Yao outlined three 'world-class' goals: a world-class market, a world-class industrial base, and a world-class tech innovation platform. Behind this are the foundations of a hundred-billion-yuan industrial scale and a four-hundred-billion-yuan market turnover. The key, however, is converting these stock advantages into incremental competitiveness. Pan Jianhua, Chairman of China Textile City Group, mentioned directions of 'market branding and intelligent trading,' hinting that traditional wholesale markets are transforming into integrated service providers.
What does this mean for foreign trade enterprises? First, market renovation will bring more concentrated new product displays and more efficient transaction matching, but it also raises the bar for suppliers' digital integration capabilities. Second, the continued 'Silk Road Keqiao · Fabric to the World' initiative suggests Keqiao is not just a production and distribution hub but aims to participate in and set global rules and standards. This is evident from the upcoming release of the '2027 World Textile Industry Trend Outlook' at the conference.
The Event's Significance: A Bellwether for 2026
The 9th World Textiles Merchandising Conference is scheduled for November 6, 2026, in Keqiao, under the theme 'Interconnection of Warp and Weft · Smart Enabling a New Global Textile Future.' On the surface, it's an industry gathering, but in essence, it's a concentrated release of policy and technology signals. The organizing committee has invited representatives from over 60 countries and regions, with topics focusing on digital transformation, green low-carbon, and open cooperation. Notably, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee has listed textiles as a key industry for 'optimization and upgrading,' implying continued policy support.
For the upstream and downstream value chain, the conference's substantive impact lies in showcasing replicable digital solutions and low-carbon transition cases. Yan Yan, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, proposed five dimensions—technological innovation, value leap, green low-carbon, ecosystem collaboration, and global governance—providing a '15th Five-Year' action checklist for textile enterprises. Especially the construction of carbon accounting and traceability systems will directly affect compliance costs for exports to markets like the EU.