Xinhua, January 11 (Reporter Zhang Chun) Looking back to 2023, China's textile and clothing industry, in a complex internal and external business environment, seeks recovery and development, overcomes difficulties and forge ahead bravely, showing a positive development trend in general.

In the past year, China's clothing industry has focused on "technology, fashion, and green", constantly enriching the connotation of the industry; The cross-border e-commerce platform promotes the export of its own brands and expands international channels; The enterprise improves the application level of digital transformation and intelligent manufacturing, and strives to meet the needs of intelligent production and life; The subdivision of product functions has become the mainstream trend, and the demand and attention to brand quality have increased significantly

This year is full of changes, challenges and new opportunities. As Chen Dapeng, Vice President of the China Textile Industry Federation and President of the China Garment Association, said in an interview, "2023 is an extraordinary year, and also a year of struggle".

The demand for consumption recovery releases, and the industry develops steadily

"In this year, the external environment faced by China's textile and clothing industry has become more complex and severe, and the export pressure has increased significantly. The domestic macro-economy has rebounded. Driven by the implementation of a series of national policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, consumer demand has gradually released, and the domestic market of textile and clothing has continued to recover," Chen Dapeng said.

On the whole, although the textile and clothing industry in China has shown a trend of slowing down, there has been significant marginal improvement, the foundation for the recovery of the economic operation of the industry has been consolidated, and the number of positive factors promoting the steady and good development of the industry has increased, providing strong support for the sustained high-quality development of the industry.

With the overall recovery of the consumption scene, the residents' income and consumption confidence have gradually recovered, and the domestic market vitality of the textile and clothing industry continues to emerge, maintaining a rapid growth momentum. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to November, the retail sales of clothing, shoes and hats, and knitwear and textiles of units above the designated size reached 1259.5 billion yuan, up 11.5% year on year, and the online retail sales of clothing goods increased 9.2% year on year, 5.8 percentage points faster than the same period last year.

"It's really not easy for the industry to develop this year," Chen Dapeng said, "Although the economic operation of the industry and enterprises is under serious pressure, a large number of enterprises in China's textile and clothing industry have risen to the challenge, laid stress on the basic skills, strengthened innovation, transformation and upgrading, and promoted the textile and clothing industry to high-end, intelligent, green and integrated development, which still shows the new characteristics of high-quality development."

Grasping the opportunity of industry development, value empowerment, innovative development

In the Implementation Plan for Quality Improvement and Upgrading of Textile Industry (2023-2025) jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Market Supervision, seven key tasks are proposed from innovation driven, product upgrading, intelligent transformation, green and low-carbon, brand cultivation, supply optimization, open cooperation and other aspects around the development goals, It provides an operational action guide for the innovation and development of the whole industry. "Therefore, industry enterprises should take this blueprint as the basis to carry out their work in a pragmatic and innovative manner in their daily operations."

Chen Dapeng put forward three suggestions for the development of the enterprise: first, vigorously strengthen the basic ability to achieve the "body" of the enterprise. Although China's clothing industry has made remarkable achievements and established a huge industrial system, there is still room for improvement in design creativity, product development, process technology, quality manufacturing, lean management and brand building. In order to narrow the gap with the fashion power, enterprises also need to continue refining and improving their core competitiveness.

The second is to make every effort to improve the innovation ability and achieve the "wisdom" of the enterprise. At present, we are in the era of rapid development of science and technology, especially the rapid development of artificial intelligence, which has brought about great changes in the industry production paradigm, organization mode and value creation mode. Digital transformation is the most important support for the construction of new driving forces and new advantages of the industry. If we cannot keep pace with scientific and technological progress, we cannot keep pace with the times. Industrial innovation needs to be based on scientific and technological innovation to build a new innovation system and innovation ecology.

Third, actively fulfill social responsibilities and achieve the "virtue" of the enterprise. Sustainable development has become the core value yardstick of industrial quality, while fulfilling social responsibility is an important driving force and ultimate value performance of enterprise development. Enterprises need to pay attention to human based responsibility, environmental responsibility and market responsibility, and build a responsible industrial ecosystem, green supply chain system and industry integrity system to create a new image of a clothing country.

Practice technology, fashion and green blueprint to create a new situation of development

As a service organization, the industry association has always maintained a sense of overall situation, improved its position, adhered to the new road of industrialization, and promoted the high-quality development of industry enterprises. When reviewing the work of the Association in 2023, Chen Dapeng concluded: "In the face of a new development environment, the China Textile Industry Federation and the Secretariat of China Garment Association focus on high-quality development of the industry, focusing on industrial research, scientific and technological innovation, brand building, industrial collaboration and talent building, to promote the industrial ecological construction of digital transformation, supply side structural reform and collaborative innovation in the digital economy era, and provide value for the industry Value service. "

In the new year, the Association will continue to make efforts in promoting digital development, upgrading industrial clusters, promoting brand development, and strengthening talent construction.

Chen Dapeng said: "On the basis of improving the scientific and technological research and development system and innovation platform system, integrate various industrial resources and services, promote the application of digital technology in all sectors, and accelerate the application of new technology in all sectors of the industry. At the same time, we will promote the transformation of enterprise production model, business model and organizational form, accelerate the construction of an industrial intelligent ecosystem driven by industrial resource connection, value creation and innovation, and promote industrial transformation and upgrading. "

In terms of industrial cluster upgrading, "we will coordinate with the industrial cluster to do a good job in development planning and industrial consulting services, improve and enhance the service system, and strengthen services in design, research and development, quality, brand, e-commerce, social responsibility, etc." according to the principle of adjusting measures to local conditions and giving full play to advantages

For promoting brand development, Chen Dapeng believes that it is necessary to focus on cutting-edge fields such as technology, fashion and culture from a global perspective, and build a service system aimed at building a world-class brand.

In addition, "we should also strengthen talent construction", Chen Dapeng said, "the key is to build a talent team with innovative spirit and excellent industrial spirit in the Internet era, a professional team with respect for the market and the product itself, and full of emotion and energy for the product."

The great change that has not happened in a century is also an opportunity that has not happened in a century. Looking forward to 2024, Chen Dapeng said: "I believe that as long as we take the new development concept as the guide, aim at the new direction of the world's scientific and technological revolution and industrial reform, practice the grand blueprint of science and technology, fashion, and green, have a mind of" the biggest man in the country ", run toward" the direction of the heart ", and start a new journey of building a modern industrial system by climbing the spirit of Everest, we will certainly create a new situation of high-quality development."