Sun Ruizhe: Work Hard And Advance Hand In Hand To Jointly Promote Higher Quality Development Of Cotton Textile Industry

Sun Ruizhe, chairman of the International Textile Manufacturers Association and President of China Textile Industry Association, delivered a speech at the 2nd enlarged meeting of the 6th Council of China Cotton Textile Industry Association and the 3rd Executive Council of the 6th session. Textile and garment weekly specially publishes the original speech here for readers.

Speech on the Council of Cotton Textile Association

Sun Ruizhe

President, International Federation of textile manufacturers

President of China Textile Industry Federation

November 30, 2022

We know each other far and near, but we are still neighbors. On behalf of China Textile Federation, I would like to extend my congratulations on the opening of the second council meeting and the third Standing Council of China Cotton Textile Industry Association!

The just concluded 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has opened a new chapter of Chinese style modernization, which provides fundamental guidance for the future development of China's textile industry. I'd like to take this opportunity to exchange views with you.

The textile industry will play an irreplaceable role in the process of Chinese modernization

In the new era and new journey, China's textile industry promotes the high-quality development of science and technology, fashion and green. The development of the textile industry resonates with the prosperity of the country, the rejuvenation of the nation and the happiness of the people.

1. The textile industry is integrated into the modernization of a large population

Textile industry is an important force to promote people's rights and interests and people's well-being. It has the ability and potential to further transform population advantage into development advantage and market advantage. According to the statistics of the world labor organization, in 2021, China's labor productivity will reach 16512 US dollars per person, which is higher than Vietnam's (3905 dollars per person) and India's (6688 dollars per person) and other countries and regions.

2. The textile industry should be integrated into the modernization of common prosperity of all the people

Textile industry is an important force to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, between workers and farmers, and between regions. Common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The process of Chinese style modernization is the process of constantly meeting the needs of people's life and resolving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development. The development of textile industry promotes urban agglomeration economy, rural revitalization, border development, and regional prosperity and people's prosperity.

3. The textile industry should integrate the modernization of material civilization and spiritual civilization

Textile industry is an important force to enrich material wealth, establish cultural confidence and create a better life. In the transformation from "made in China" to "created in China", we should continue to enrich product supply and promote consumption and industrial upgrading; In the transformation of China's speed to China's quality, we should continuously enhance the added value, promote the transformation of development mode, optimization of economic structure and transformation of growth momentum; In the transformation of Chinese products to Chinese brands, we should continue to expand brand influence and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese culture.

4. The textile industry is integrated into the modernization of harmonious coexistence of human and nature

Textile industry is an important force to construct the symbiotic development pattern of production, life and ecological beauty. As one of the first industrial sectors in China to put forward the goal of carbon neutral, textile industry is in the forefront of sustainable management innovation, energy saving and water saving, pollution prevention and control, comprehensive utilization of resources, green manufacturing, etc., and is an important promoter of global sustainable governance. The industry actively applies green technology, promotes green consumption, improves green standards, and continuously promotes the green and low-carbon transformation of the whole industry chain. Since 2016, a total of 251 green design products, 91 green factories, 10 green supply chain enterprises and 11 green design demonstration enterprises have been listed in the list of green manufacturing system construction by the Ministry of industry and information technology.

5. The textile industry should be integrated into the modernization of peaceful development

The textile industry is an important force to promote the realization of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. With a large-scale, stable and smooth industrial cycle, the textile industry promotes the efficient flow of resource elements, realizes global industrial and global development in the exchange of products, production capacity, brands and capital, creates common values and serves the cause of human rights in the process of opening up and cooperation. In 2021, China's total fiber processing will exceed 60 million tons, accounting for more than 50% of the world's total fiber processing; The output of chemical fiber is 67.09 million tons, accounting for more than 70% of the world; Textile and clothing exports amounted to 315.5 billion US dollars, accounting for more than one third of global textile and clothing exports. Since 2012, the total foreign investment of the industry has exceeded US $11 billion, effectively driving the development of Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions.

The development of textile industry is of great significance for the steady advancement of Chinese modernization. It is the ballast stone of people's livelihood, the leading industry of regional economic development, and an important force reflecting the certainty of international cooperation in the uncertain international environment.

Second, the challenges of external environment in the new period of turbulence and change

Since this year, the complex and severe external environment has brought more than expected pressure. According to the data of key enterprises tracked by the cotton textile association, the market purchase and sales in October 2022 are sluggish, the accumulated operating revenue from January to October is from positive to negative, the growth rate of export delivery value continues to decline, the profit decline is expanded, and the loss area is narrowed.

From the perspective of the whole industry, from January to September, the industrial added value of textile enterprises above designated size decreased by 0.4% year on year; The profit of textile enterprises above Designated Size reached 134.54 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 23.6%. Textile Enterprises above the designated size achieved a revenue of 3856.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. The retail sales of clothing, shoes, hats and knitwear above the national quota were 927.3 billion yuan, 0.4 percentage points lower than that from January to August; The retail sales of online wear goods increased by 4.7% year on year. Export maintained a rapid growth. From January to October of 2022, the cumulative export of textile and clothing was 273.25 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 6.5%. Among them, the textile export was 125.66 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 6.8%, and the clothing export was 147.59 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 6.2%. From January to September, the investment growth rates of textile industry, clothing industry and chemical fiber industry were 6.3%, 30.8% and 32.0% respectively.

Collins dictionary has released its 2022 Vocabulary: "permacrisis," meaning "long term instability and insecurity.". This is a good summary of the current global situation. The outbreak of new crown pneumonia has been delayed repeatedly, and the geopolitical situation is tense. The world economic recovery and trade exchanges are facing various challenges. "World opening up report 2022" shows that the opening up of the world is on the decline as a whole.

First, there is a serious lack of confidence. In October, the IMF lowered its global economic growth forecast for 2023 to 2.7% from 2.9% in July. It is expected that countries accounting for about one third of the global economy will experience economic contraction this year or next. Global consumption capacity and willingness are being impacted. Since 2022, the number of layoffs in the U.S. technology industry has exceeded 100000. The October Ipsos survey showed that consumer confidence in the United States, Germany, the UK, Italy and Japan all reached their lowest level in more than a year.

Second, basic demand is saturated. With the improvement of supply capacity and the world flattening, the basic demand has been nearly saturated. This year's "double 11" fever has decreased. According to the data released by the State Post Office, from November 1 to November 11, China's postal express enterprises handled 4.27 billion express packages, down from 6.8 billion last year. The flow dividend of the network has entered the bottleneck, the basic market demand is saturated, and the product supply needs to be more diversified and quality.

Third, polarization has intensified. The global gap between the rich and the poor has widened, and the low-end consumer market has shrunk significantly. According to the World Bank report, the new outbreak in 2020 caused global inequality to rise for the first time in decades. The share of the world's richest 1% of the world's total wealth has risen from 44% in 2020 to 46% in 2021. Western countries' mass consumption is sluggish and high-end consumption is rising.

Third, reshape the industrial structure and ecology and create new values and advantages

Innovation determines the value line and safety bottom line of the industry, as well as the realistic boundary and future space of the industry. McKinsey predicts that technological progress in the next decade will exceed that of the previous 100 years combined. Innovation and creation are surging forward, impacting the original industrial ecology and shaping new development opportunities.

1. Grasp the opportunity of digital economy development

Digital economy gives birth to new productivity and production relations. In 2021, the added value of digital economy in 47 major countries in the world will reach 38.1 trillion US dollars. With the direction of analysis and mining, simulation rendering, perceptual interaction, security and credibility, the digital application scenarios of the industry driven by technology are opening.

New manufacturing mode. Supported by the industrial Internet, the application of intelligent manufacturing technology drives the process optimization and reengineering. The development of robots is changing the structure of factor cost and shaping a new input-output relationship. The global installation of industrial robots will increase by 27% in 2021.

New market model. New formats such as cross-border e-commerce, live e-commerce and interest e-commerce continue to emerge. In the first half of 2022, the trade volume of textile and clothing accounts for 25.9%.

New scene mode. With the development of VR technology and Web3.0 framework, virtual idol, meta universe and other formats and models have been born. Many fashion weeks have launched virtual show. In the deep integration of virtual and reality, a "super scene" with immersive interactive experience as the core is being formed.

New innovation paradigm. Data driven innovation and R & D has formed a new practice. High throughput computing, preparation and characterization, machine learning and other technologies have promoted significant changes in the research and development mode of new materials. Distance learning, research and communication have become the norm, and the scope and depth of knowledge and innovation have been enhanced.

2. Grasp the opportunity of bioeconomy development

Bioeconomy has become the next outlet of world economic growth. The technology of biomedicine, biological breeding, biomaterials, bioenergy and other fields has accelerated the evolution, which has profoundly changed the material supply, production mode and application space. Major countries in the world are strengthening the strategic deployment of bioeconomy and promoting industrial development in an all-round way. The United States launched the "national bioeconomy and bio manufacturing program" with a total of US $2 billion; China released the first "14th five year plan" for bioeconomy development. Textile industry has a natural relationship with bio economy, and a new field and new track are being formed in the integration.

In the field of materials, biotechnology has changed the structure and properties of natural fibers and the way to obtain them. A series of new fiber varieties, such as colored cotton and colored silk, have been cultivated; The development of biomass materials such as chitin fiber and polylactic acid fiber outlines the sustainable development path of the industry.

In the field of manufacturing, supported by synthetic biology, biological manufacturing promotes the substitution of chemical raw materials and process, and changes the mode of material production and processing. The long-chain dicarboxylic acid prepared by biological method has formed obvious cost advantage and carbon reduction advantage.

In the field of application, textiles are more diversified and deeper in the fields of general health, medical and health. Pleasure home textile has been successfully woven with micron grade yarn to replace human aortic prosthesis.

3. Grasp the opportunity of green economy development

With the goal of "double carbon" as the strategic direction, global policy resources, financial capital and market innovation are converging to green economy at an exponential speed, changing the value logic of the industry.

First of all, the textile industry is realizing the green innovation practice of the whole industry chain. Chemical fiber raw materials and bio based materials from coal chemical industry are the innovation focus of current raw material system. It is an important direction for manufacturing system upgrading to build circular economy around energy saving and water saving, pollution prevention and comprehensive utilization of resources. Hengshen Shenyuan New Material Industrial Park explores hydrogen recovery from synthetic ammonia industry as the source of industrial by-product hydrogen; In 2021, the global recycling value of waste textiles will rise to $2.098 billion.

Secondly, textile innovation practice supports green transformation in more fields. Lightweight carbon fiber composites and high-efficiency thermal insulation aerogel materials are effective ways to achieve energy saving and emission reduction in the fields of automobile, aerospace, architecture and so on. Textile materials also play an important role in ecological restoration and environmental protection, such as high temperature filtration, lake water purification and so on.

4. Grasp the opportunity of creative economy development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and development estimates that the cultural industry will account for 3.1% of global GDP in 2020, and creative products and services will account for 3% and 21% of the total exports of goods and services, respectively. Creative economy promotes industries to adapt to changes, create demand and enhance value.

Creative economy comes from the excavation of cultural value. The systematic exploration and creativity of multi culture are transformed into industry design and brand empowerment.

Creative economy originates from the transformation of life style. Creative economy in pet economy, sports and health and other emerging areas, the birth of product development and innovation.

Creative economy originates from the creation of consumption experience. Creative economy promotes the integration and symbiosis of fashion industry, content industry, entertainment industry and tourism industry, and upgrades the experience in scene iteration.

Fourth, the cotton textile association should have new achievements in the new era and new journey

As an important origin of China's modern textile industry, cotton textile industry is an important force to narrow the differences between urban and rural areas, industry and agriculture, and regional differences. It is also an important field for textile industry to promote Chinese style modernization in the era of change.

As the largest sector in the field of natural fiber processing, China's cotton textile industry has achieved positive feedback on the development of industrial scale, market scale and population scale in the process of manufacturing upgrading, which promotes the modernization process of huge population.

China's cotton textile industry is connected with the primary, secondary and tertiary industries. From farms, factories to shopping malls, the industry helps rural revitalization, border development and regional balance with value creation, and promotes the modernization process of common prosperity for all people.

With self-confidence, self-improvement and innovation, China's cotton textile industry realizes the essence of manufacturing and the beauty of products in the creative transformation of excellent culture and traditional skills, the innovative development of modern manufacturing and fashion creativity, and promotes the modernization process of the coordination of material civilization and spiritual civilization.

From the source of fiber to the end of consumption, China's cotton textile industry, based on the whole life cycle of products, realizes the unification of economic, social and ecological benefits with the development of green and low-carbon cycle, and promotes the modernization process of harmonious coexistence of human and nature.

Global industry and global development, as one of the earliest areas of globalization and the deepest degree of participation, China's cotton textile industry promotes human well-being and human rights. It is an important field to help the UN achieve its sustainable development goals and promote the modernization process of peaceful development.

China Cotton Textile Industry Association has always been an important force to guide and promote the modernization, sustainable and high-quality development of the cotton textile industry. Since this year, in the face of external environmental changes beyond expectations, the cotton textile association has taken practical measures to guide the healthy development of the industry, and achieved remarkable results. Under pressure, the industry has not only made outstanding contributions in stabilizing the economy, protecting people's livelihood and promoting employment, but also effectively ensured the stable operation of the global cotton textile industry chain supply chain.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has opened a grand blueprint for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In order to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China Textile Federation, together with the national development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of industry and information technology, is planning the outline of action for building a socialist modern country's textile industry (2022-2035). It is hoped that the cotton textile association will play a greater role in the new era and make new contributions to opening up a new situation of high-quality development.

First, we should take the overall situation into consideration, enhance the strategy and position, keep in mind that the country is big, and guide the development of the industry to serve the country's prosperity, national rejuvenation and people's happiness.

Second, we should be down-to-earth, balance development and safety, lay a solid foundation for manufacturing, adhere to self-reliance, and effectively improve the toughness and development level of the industrial chain supply chain.

Third, we should take responsibility, base on the long-term and fundamental, and guide the industry to accelerate the transformation of high-end, intelligent and green from the height of harmonious coexistence of human and nature.

With human civilization and global development, a history of cotton spinning is a world history. Chinese style modernization has opened up a new form of human civilization, in which China's cotton textile industry has a bright future. You can enjoy a grander sight by climbing to a greater height. Let's work hard and move forward hand in hand to jointly promote the development of cotton textile industry with higher quality and create a better tomorrow.