According to the China National Textile and Apparel Council, the textile industry’s 13th Five-Year Plan has already taken shape. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, industrial textiles will be a key area of development and are expected to maintain double-digit growth.
Unlocking the Potential of Industrial Textiles
A representative of the Council said that the textile industry’s 13th Five-Year Plan has been listed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as one of its ministerial-level plans and is expected to be released by the Ministry in the first half of 2016.
The representative revealed that, based on global conditions and China’s national circumstances, during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the textile industry will continue to serve as a traditional pillar industry of China’s national economy and an important industry closely related to people’s livelihoods. However, its international competitive advantage based on comparative costs is gradually being transformed into a new international advantage across the industrial chain. Therefore, the textile industry’s 13th Five-Year Plan gives the industry a new positioning for the new era: “The textile industry is a traditional pillar industry of China, an important industry related to people’s livelihoods, and an industry that creates new international competitive advantages. It integrates technology with fashion and serves both clothing consumption and industrial applications. It plays an important role in improving people’s lives, driving related industries, stimulating domestic demand, promoting ecological civilization, strengthening cultural confidence, and fostering social harmony.”
According to the Council representative, “creating new international competitive advantages, integrating technology with fashion, and developing both clothing consumption and industrial applications” are three newly proposed concepts that will become increasingly evident during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. They are also essential requirements and necessary steps for the transformation and upgrading of China’s textile industry toward the high end.
China’s industrial textiles sector began in the 1980s and was initially known as industrial fabrics. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the industry made substantial progress. Three nonwoven fabric manufacturers entered the world’s top 40, the number of listed companies reached 14, and labor productivity among the industry’s top 20 enterprises increased by an average of 15% annually. A group of small and medium-sized enterprises featuring specialization, precision, distinctive characteristics, high quality, and innovation also emerged.
Industry Growth Is Expected to Remain in Double Digits
Li Lingshen, President of the China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association, believes that the greatest opportunity for the industrial textiles industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan period is that China’s economy will continue to maintain medium-to-high-speed growth.
Experts noted that the industrial textiles industry is highly dependent on the national economy and is closely related to national infrastructure construction and major national policies.
In recent years, textiles used in transportation have shown rapid growth, with industry sales revenue and total profits increasing by more than 15%. According to statistics, more than 80 types of automotive components now use textile materials, and each passenger car requires approximately 20 kilograms of textile materials.
Estimates indicate that by 2020, the number of automobiles worldwide will exceed 1 billion. This means that over the following seven years, the annual growth rate of automobile ownership will reach 12%–15%. Therefore, automotive textiles have enormous development potential and, as living standards improve, will continue moving toward higher-end product categories.
At the same time, the growing prosperity of transportation, foreign trade, and tourism is driving rapid growth in vehicles used for land, sea, and air transport. In particular, as transportation equipment develops toward larger-scale, high-end, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly solutions, high-speed rail has grown rapidly in recent years, while China’s domestically developed C919 large passenger aircraft is also preparing to enter service. These developments are promoting the gradual replacement of steel by lightweight, high-performance textiles and composite materials, further expanding their applications. Such products have become some of the most promising and high-value-added emerging products in the textile industry in recent years.
Li Lingshen said that as long as China’s gross domestic product can maintain a growth rate of between 6.5% and 7%, the main economic indicators of the industrial textiles industry can basically be expected to achieve double-digit growth.