Xia Lingmin: Keep Innovation, Forge Ahead Bravely And Build Modern Textile Industry Cluster

Work report of 2022 national textile industry cluster Conference

Keep integrity, innovate and forge ahead bravely

Building modern textile industry cluster

Xia Lingmin

Secretary General of China Textile Industry Federation

Today, it has been 20 years since the first industrial cluster meeting of China Textile Industry Federation was held. On December 24, 2002, China Textile Industry Federation (then China Textile Industry Association) held the national textile industry cluster development seminar in the Great Hall of the people in Beijing. It officially declared that Shaoxing County and other 38 cities, counties, districts and towns became pilot areas of industrial clusters of China Textile Industry Federation, and awarded these areas the corresponding titles of characteristic towns, It marks the official opening of the curtain of industrial cluster service work of China Textile Industry Federation. This is the most important starting point for China Textile Industry Federation to transform its function service industry after the institutional reform, and it is also a strategic measure to promote the development of local economy and industry economy. The member units and departments of China Textile Federation, together with local industry organizations at all levels, scientific research institutes, colleges and universities, and various local service organizations, have carried out multi-level and multi angle service work for industrial cluster areas: carry out in-depth investigation and research, understand the difficulties and problems encountered in the industry, and strive for policy support from governments at all levels; To provide industry consulting services for industrial cluster areas and formulate industry development plans; Assist all kinds of enterprises to expand sales channels and expand domestic and foreign markets; Carry out technical services to solve the technical problems encountered by enterprises; Carry out relevant training to improve the quality and ability of employees in cluster enterprises; To organize international exchanges and carry out international cooperation; Carry out information service and improve enterprise management level; Promote the construction of social responsibility system of textile enterprises, protect the rights and interests of employees and stakeholders, and promote the stable and sustainable development of enterprises; We should strengthen the publicity and promotion of the cluster area, and expand the brand awareness and influence of the industrial cluster region. These work for the healthy development of industrial clusters, for the rapid growth of enterprises in industrial clusters have played an important role.

I. remarkable achievements in the development of textile and garment industry cluster in the past 20 years

Industrial cluster is the inevitable result of the market-oriented evolution of textile and garment industry since the reform and opening up, and is the spatial organization form of industrial high-efficiency coordination. The development and growth of industrial clusters not only support the local economic development, expand employment, protect the people's livelihood, enrich the people, but also support the industry scale expansion and capacity improvement, showing the ecology and vitality of the textile and clothing industry.

1. Basic situation of industrial cluster development

Over the past 20 years, the number of industrial cluster pilot projects has increased from 38 in 2002, with a total output value of more than 480 billion yuan, 3.29 million employees and 86000 enterprises. By the end of 2021, the total number of industrial cluster pilot projects has reached 211, the output value of textile industry has reached 3.77 trillion yuan, the number of employed people has exceeded 7 million, and the total number of enterprises has exceeded 250000.

In the past 20 years, great changes have taken place in the textile industry. In 2002, the total output value of Enterprises above Designated Size just exceeded 1 trillion yuan, with a total profit of 34 billion yuan and nearly 18 million employees in the whole industry. In 2002, the total export volume of the whole industry was 61.77 billion US dollars, which was the highest level at that time. In 2021, 34000 Enterprises above Designated Size in China's textile industry will achieve a revenue of 5.2 trillion yuan, a total profit of 267.7 billion yuan, and more than 20 million employees in the industry. In 2021, the total export volume of the whole industry will reach 315.5 billion U.S. dollars, a record high in the industry's export volume.

Industrial cluster is not only very important in the development of industry economy, but also plays an important role in the development of local economy. Recently, more than 60 counties and cities in China's top 100 economic counties take textile and clothing as their pillar industry or characteristic industry; Among the top 10 counties in the top 100, 9 counties and cities take textile and clothing as their industrial characteristics.

This year, China Textile Federation has carried out the Fifth Review of industrial cluster pilot projects. The objects of review include 204 industrial cluster areas which have been in the pilot period for three years, plus six newly added industrial clusters from 2020 to 2021, and a total of 211 industrial cluster areas that have been jointly built. With the approval of China Textile Federation, 193 textile and garment industry cluster pilot areas such as Jiangyin City of Jiangsu Province have passed this review. In 2022, new pilot projects will be added to build 9 industrial clusters.

Up to now, there are 202 National Textile and garment industry cluster areas that have established pilot co construction relationship with China Textile Federation. There are 149 eastern regions, 33 central regions, 12 western regions and 8 northeast regions. It is mainly distributed in 20 provinces and regions in China, and the top five provinces are: 40 in Jiangsu Province, 39 in Zhejiang Province, 26 in Guangdong Province, 22 in Shandong Province and 15 in Fujian Province. In terms of the number of pilot areas for industrial clusters, the five provinces account for 70% of the whole industry.

Table 1 Distribution of pilot areas of textile industry cluster

In terms of industry distribution in pilot areas of industrial clusters, 202 clusters in China belong to 13 industries, including clothing, knitting, home textile, cotton spinning, wool spinning, industrial use, chemical fiber, trade, filament, printing and dyeing, hemp spinning, silk, and textile machinery.

Table 2 distribution of pilot industries in textile industry cluster

By the end of 2021, the textile and clothing business revenue of eight industrial clusters in Fujian Changle, Jiangsu Jiangyin, Zhejiang Tongxiang, Zhejiang Xiaoshan, Shandong Binzhou, Guangdong Shantou, Zhejiang Keqiao and Guangdong Puning has exceeded 100 billion yuan. In addition, the operating revenue of five industrial clusters, including Jinjiang in Fujian, Shishi in Fujian, Haining in Zhejiang, Changshu in Jiangsu and Humen in Guangdong, has an operating income of over 80 billion yuan. These 13 industrial cluster areas are not only typical areas with high degree of industrial development agglomeration, but also the leading development areas with strong market expansion ability and important position in domestic and international markets and industrial chain cooperation.

2. Major achievements of industrial cluster development in 20 years

First, the technological innovation ability of industrial clusters has been greatly improved. The local government of industrial clusters strongly supports scientific research institutes and universities to set up national and provincial scientific and technological research and development institutions in the local area, serve the enterprises in the cluster, improve the level of scientific and technological research and development and product development ability of enterprises, and accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Keqiao, Shengze, Changshu, Shishi and other places have cooperated with China Textile Information Center, Donghua University, Zhejiang University of science and technology, China Academy of Textile Sciences and other universities and scientific research institutions to establish innovation carriers and technology public service platforms around the main directions of development and application of new fiber materials, research on advanced manufacturing technology, and development of advanced printing and dyeing technology to serve enterprises, The effect is remarkable to enhance the technological innovation ability of enterprises. A number of scientific research institutions including the national manufacturing innovation center, the State Key Laboratory, the state enterprise technology center, the textile industry key laboratory and the textile industry technology innovation center have been established in the industrial cluster area. These institutions not only carry out technology research and development cooperation with large enterprises, but also widely serve the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises in the cluster, and become an important technical support force for cluster enterprises. Shishi City and China Textile Information Center cooperation, Jinjiang City and China Textile Science Research Institute cooperation, the establishment of testing center, respectively gathered nearly 200 professionals in the industry, for textile and clothing enterprises to carry out technical product development, quality testing and certification, personnel training services, greatly promoting the enterprise's technological innovation ability.

Second, there has been a new breakthrough in the level of digital development. The overall level of the integration of industrialization and industrialization of the textile industry has improved rapidly. Since 2017, the evaluation score of the integration of industrialization and industrialization of the textile industry has been improved from 48.4 to 56.6, realizing a leap of 16.9%, which is higher than the average growth rate of 11.6% in the whole country, and the effect of digital transformation of the industry continues to show. The leading enterprises in the industrial cluster, such as Hengli Group, Shenzhou group, Rongsheng group, bosden group, Hengshen group, Hongdou Group, Tianhong Group, Wuxi Yimian group, xinfengming group, Dayang group and other enterprises, have greatly improved their digital capability after years of digital transformation, and some workshops, processes and factories have realized intelligent operation, The digital level is also in a leading position in the international peer comparison. These large enterprises also drive a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the pace of digital transformation, and promote the overall digital level of the industry in the industrial cluster area. At the same time, local government departments also give strong support to the digital transformation of enterprises, giving preferential tax policies, financial policies to a certain degree of support, and the introduction of technical personnel resources. These measures greatly mobilize the enthusiasm of textile and garment enterprises to speed up the digital transformation, and the application depth of digital technology and the management level of enterprises have been significantly improved.

At the same time, the regional government of industrial clusters strongly supports textile and garment enterprises or third-party enterprise platform institutions to carry out in-depth application of e-commerce, serving the transformation of business model of enterprises and the expansion of new formats. A large number of industrial clusters such as Nantong, Changshu, Puyuan, Yiwu, Dalang, Humen, Shishi and other well-known enterprises such as Alibaba, Jingdong, Tencent and a large number of e-commerce service enterprises and related institutions have been attracted to settle in the clusters, providing all-round services for enterprises to carry out e-commerce. The pilot of market trade procurement mode in many regions has provided great convenience for SMEs to engage in foreign trade and cross-border e-commerce. In the past two years, even with the impact of the epidemic, the import and export trade volume of many regions has increased significantly.

Third, brand development has entered a new stage. The regional brand influence of industrial clusters has been greatly improved, and the brand value has been constantly reflected. Liaoyuan socks industry, Xiliu cotton padded clothes, Xingcheng swimsuit, Qinghe cashmere, Jimo knitting, Jiaxiang gloves, Nantong home textile, Changshu men's wear, Puyuan sweater, Xucun cloth art, Zhili children's wear, Shengzhou tie, Humen women's wear, Junan jeans, Yanbu underwear and so on. These regional brands with obvious regional and industrial characteristics not only enjoy great influence in China, The international popularity is getting higher and higher, and the influence is also growing. With the rapid growth of enterprises and the continuous improvement of product quality, the brand value of enterprises in the cluster is also constantly improving, and the market competitiveness of brands is also constantly improving.

Fourth, new achievements have been made in the construction of public service system of industrial clusters. The market-oriented service system of industrial clusters has been initially established, and service organizations with multiple subjects are active in the industrial clusters. There are not only public welfare service teams led by the government, but also service organizations operated by enterprises; There are not only large-scale, strong service ability and wide service scope, but also small and specialized service organizations; There are not only well-known large enterprises, including service enterprises of large it factories, but also a large number of small service enterprises with high activity, as well as a large number of designer studios. According to the incomplete statistics of the cluster Working Committee of China Textile Federation, there are more than 1500 technical product R & D institutions, quality testing institutions, information dissemination and promotion institutions, e-commerce service institutions, financial and legal services institutions, news and publicity institutions, talent training institutions, logistics service institutions, etc. in 202 Industrial clusters. These service institutions have become an indispensable force for the healthy and stable development of industrial clusters.

Fifth, green sustainable development presents a new look. In recent years, textile and garment industry cluster has made great progress in environmental protection, pollutant emission reduction, energy saving and consumption reduction, resource recycling and reuse, and has established an increasingly perfect green development system; The awareness of corporate social responsibility is increasing day by day; In line with the increasing market trend of green consumption demand, green product development and design, green production and manufacturing are rapidly popularized in cluster enterprises. Green sustainable development has become the successful practice of industrial clusters from the concept. Industrial clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, such as Keqiao, Tongxiang, Shengze, Changshu, Zhangjiagang and Jiangyin, and Xintang, Xiqiao, Puning, Chaonan and Gurao in the Pearl River Delta, have solved the problem of standard discharge of wastewater from printing and dyeing enterprises, protected the surrounding water systems, improved the ecological environment, and realized sustainable development by moving factories into parks, technological transformation and eliminating backward production capacity.

In the past two years, Keqiao has issued the "Shaoxing, China Keqiao climate action declaration" and Shengze's "Shengze textile industry climate action white paper", which fully demonstrate the distinctive attitude of textile industry cluster to actively participate in climate innovation action, and also set up an action model for the industry to promote the realization of the dual carbon goal.

2. Challenges faced by the development of textile and garment industry cluster

Although the development of textile and clothing industry cluster has made great progress in recent years, the complex external environment and changing market conditions still bring great challenges to the future development of the industry cluster.

1. The innovation ability of small and medium-sized enterprises in industrial clusters is weak, and extensive development is still common. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the main body of industrial clusters, and their abilities of R & D and design, technological innovation and technology application are relatively weak. It is difficult to keep pace with large enterprises in terms of digital transformation and green development. Therefore, there is a big gap in the innovation ability and management level of enterprises. Homogenization competition still exists in the cluster, and the protection of intellectual property rights needs to be strengthened.

2. The uncertainty of market environment brings obvious pressure to the development of enterprises. On the one hand, the domestic market demand is weak. Since the epidemic, the domestic market has been in a downturn, and the sales of textiles and clothing have not recovered to the state before 2019. In addition, the offline entity sales channels have shifted to online channels, which makes it difficult for many enterprises, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises in industrial clusters, to adapt. On the other hand, the uncertainty of the international market has further intensified. The United States has imposed restrictions on cotton products in Xinjiang, and the European Union is also following closely, which has a great impact on China's traditional export market; In addition, local geopolitical conflicts lead to the obstruction of international supply chain, the drastic fluctuation of commodity prices and the rise of energy prices, which have affected the international cooperation of textile and garment enterprises, especially for the outward oriented industrial clusters.

3. The goal of green development has brought hard constraints to industrial agglomeration in central and Western China. Green development is an important goal for the textile industry to achieve transformation and upgrading in the 14th five year plan and the future. The industrial clusters in the eastern region have made great progress in green environmental protection in recent years, while the central and western regions are facing great environmental pressure when undertaking industrial transfer and realizing industrial agglomeration. First, the original basic conditions of the industrial clusters in the central and western regions are relatively weak, and the high standard environmental protection requirements require the government and enterprises to invest in capital resources, so the operation cost of enterprises will be relatively high, which will weaken the comparative advantage of industrial agglomeration in central and western regions. Second, the ecological environment of the central and western regions is relatively fragile, and the carrying capacity is also weak, and the acceptance capacity of printing and dyeing, knitting, home textile and other industries is relatively low. To achieve the efficient agglomeration of supporting enterprises in the industrial chain, the difficulties will be even more arduous.

4. The three-year epidemic has put forward new requirements for the development mode of industrial clusters. Xinguan epidemic has a significant impact on logistics, employment, consumption patterns and consumption habits, and these impacts will continue after the epidemic. In order to adapt to the changes of consumer demand, production mode and production mode in the post epidemic era, it is necessary for industrial cluster enterprises to prepare early. In the case of frequent outbreak of multi-point epidemic, it is necessary to re plan and rearrange the supply chain, normal production order and stable workforce; In order to meet the higher requirements of consumers for product quality and online service, enterprises need to prepare products, technology and service system as soon as possible. In the fierce market competition, only fully prepared to actively respond to the difficulties and challenges, to win the competition.

5. Industrial transfer and regional layout adjustment are facing new problems. Xinguan epidemic, weak market demand, uncertainty of international environment, and stability of supply chain security have brought great impact on domestic industrial transfer and industrial development and agglomeration in central and western regions. How to give full play to the comparative advantages of industrial factor resources, industrial policies and industrial environment in the central and western regions, and to gain an advantageous position in the competition with relevant international regions, is an important issue we are facing. Under the condition of globalization, the international competition of the industry itself is very fierce. After adding many unfavorable factors, it is very important for the healthy and stable development of the whole industry that how to avoid the recurrence of the hollowing out phenomenon of the European and American countries in China, ensure that the central and Western Regions smoothly undertake the domestic high-quality industrial transfer, and further optimize the domestic layout of the textile and clothing industry, It needs the joint efforts of enterprises and government departments to solve this new problem as soon as possible.

3. Key tasks of modernization of textile and garment industry cluster

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that by 2035, China should build a modern economic system, form a new development pattern, and basically realize new industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization. As the pillar industry and traditional advantage industry of the national economy, the textile industry has a high degree of marketization and internationalization. On the basis of basically building a textile power, we should further promote the modernization level of the whole textile industry chain and contribute to the construction of Chinese style modernization. As an important part of the whole textile industry, textile and garment industry cluster has a long way to go in the process of modernization. Building a modern textile and garment industry cluster and driving tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises to realize modernization in an all-round way is a task we must strive to accomplish in the next decade or so.

1. Persist in promoting the upgrading and development of industrial clusters. The governments and enterprises in all industrial clusters should enhance their confidence in development and continuously promote the transformation and upgrading of industries with the persistence and tenacity of "sticking to the green hills and not relaxing". We should make scientific planning and accurate layout, take the modernization of industrial clusters as the main goal and task of industrial development, adhere to it for a long time, implement it step by step, and finally achieve success.

2. Adhere to the principle that science and technology is the first productive force, improve the technological innovation ability of cluster enterprises in an all-round way, and provide long-term power for cluster development. The most important thing to build a modern textile industry system is to build a world leading modern textile science and technology system. In the fields of textile fiber new material technology, advanced textile technology and equipment, deep application of digital technology and intelligent production, it is necessary to continuously improve and make progress, and always maintain the leading position in the world. Industrial cluster areas should not only encourage large enterprises to increase investment in science and technology research and development, lead the industry's scientific and technological innovation, but also support small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out technological research and development, and realize the sharing of scientific and technological achievements through public services. We should let modern science and technology support the development vitality and international competitiveness of industrial clusters.

3. Insist on promoting the digital transformation of industrial clusters, promote the intelligent development of enterprises, and create new industrial models and formats. At present, the new generation of information technology is in the outbreak period of rapid innovation, which is giving birth to the fourth industrial revolution. New technologies such as the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are deeply integrated into the textile and garment industry. The enabling role of data elements on the industry continues to appear. Digital technology constantly promotes new changes, new technologies, new models and new formats of the textile industry. The digital transformation of industrial clusters is the strategic cornerstone of the modernization of industrial clusters. It will accelerate the process of scientific and technological innovation and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, improve the rapid response ability of brands, and enhance the green sustainable development ability of enterprises. Industrial cluster areas should vigorously support the digital transformation of enterprises, integrate more third-party resources to serve the digital transformation of enterprises, so as to promote the large and medium-sized enterprises in the industrial cluster to share the latest achievements of digital technology, keep up with the pace of technological revolution, maintain strong competitiveness in market competition, and ensure the vitality of textile and garment industry.

4. Adhere to the road of brand development, constantly improve the level of product R & D and design of cluster enterprises, improve product quality, and promote high-end industry. To build a modern textile industry system, it is necessary to establish a modern textile and clothing fashion brand system, that is, based on China and facing the world, create a textile and clothing brand ecology of high quality, high cost performance, high fashion and high experience, and create the international discourse power of Chinese fashion brands. Industrial cluster areas should encourage and support enterprises to develop new products, apply new technologies, expand new channels, and build new models. Through the application of new fibers, new fabrics and new technologies, it can bring consumers a new consumption experience, meet people's demand for fashion beauty, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the industry.

5. Adhere to green development and promote the establishment of green sustainable development system in the industry. In order to build a modern textile industry system, it is necessary to establish a green and sustainable development system of textile industry, that is, to strive to build a low-carbon environmental protection industrial system with rich green products, popular green manufacturing technology and widely accepted green consumption. Industrial cluster areas should encourage and guide enterprises to develop green textile products, promote ecological design, apply green technology, advocate green consumption, and let the concept of green sustainable development go deep into every corner of the industry and the hearts of consumers. Green sustainability is not only the internal demand of industrial development, but also the external constraint of building a community of human destiny in the new era, and it is also the concrete embodiment of textile industry's social responsibility. Green development will become the new label of industry, the new ability of enterprises and the new experience of consumers.

6. Adhere to the talent is the first resource, cultivate high-quality talent team, and build a solid talent base for the development of cluster industry. To build a modern textile industry system, we must establish a talent guarantee system, that is to establish a high-quality textile and clothing talent team, including high-quality management personnel, high-quality scientific and technological research and design personnel, as well as high-quality production and marketing service personnel. The most important reason for China's textile and garment industry to maintain an obvious international competitive comparative advantage is the guarantee of high-quality talent team under the environment of the sharp rise of labor cost and the rising cost of various elements and resources. Industrial cluster areas should rely on the support of colleges and universities, scientific research institutes and industry organizations, carry out in-depth cooperation, persevere, implement multi-level and all-round talent training plan, and continuously deliver high-quality talents for enterprises.

The "14th five year plan" period is an important stage for the textile industry to build a powerful textile country in an all-round way and realize high-quality development. It is also a key period to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and to build a modern textile industry system, and also a key period for building a modern textile and garment industry cluster. Only by strengthening confidence, keeping innovation, working hard, advancing bravely and persisting in scientific and technological innovation, brand promotion and green development, can the textile industry be established as soon as possible, and make outstanding contributions to the construction of Chinese style modernization and the realization of the goal of the second century.

The country is magnificent, with a long future and a mission to urge. Standing at a new historical starting point, I hope we can work together with one heart and work together to create a new glory of textile industry cluster!