The textile industry, an important pillar industry of China’s national economy, speeds up its development towards digitization, networking, and intelligence. It is necessary to fully tap into trends and opportunities of the integrated development of the new generation of information technology and manufacturing and accelerate the digital transformation and upgrading of the textile industry.

I. Goals

By 2024, it aims to make notable progress in the digital transformation of the textile industry, integrating the new generation of information technology and the textile industry closely. Significantly improve the digitalization level of key areas and key sectors: let the Internet connection rate of digital production equipment to 50%; the penetration rate of industrial cloud platforms to 55%; the penetration rate of ERP applications to 68%; that of MES applications to 28%. Enhance the collaboration between industrial clusters and SMEs based on the developed industrial Internet platform. Accelerate the establishment of the public service system for digital transformation to greatly improve big data aggregation and service capabilities. Initially build the big data center for the textile and apparel industry. And the industry aims to make significant breakthroughs in key technologies of industry digitalization and cultivate a number of system solutions for industrial digital transformation.

II. Main tasks

(I) Action on Digital Transformation of Enterprises

Vigorously promoting the digital transformation of textile enterprises, to improve the digital level of production equipment and key processes and improve the interconnectivity of production factors. Generalizing key digital technologies in the industry, to improve the application coverage in enterprises in terms of R&D design, production process monitoring, operation management, and after-sales service. Improving the integration of enterprise digital applications, to build digital and intelligent production lines and workshops.

(II) Action on Digital Empowerment for SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to carry out digital transformation in urgent needs, including online marketing, production control, online design, and capacity sharing, and then expanding to the whole process. Low-cost, platform-based, and high-efficient solutions that meet the needs of SMEs are encouraged to be developed.

(III) Action on Innovation and Development of Industrial Internet

The industrial Internet platform in the textile industry will be the focus. It aims to enhance the platform service capabilities in terms of integrated management and control, specialized services in niche fields, optimal allocation of industrial chain supply chain resources, as well as the development of new business modes. The “5G Plus Industrial Internet” mode will be put in place. By selecting suitable application scenarios and solving practical problems in the industry, 5G-connected factories will be built and promoted.

(IV) Action on Digital Transformation and Upgrading of Industrial Clusters

Creating digital industrial clusters (industrial parks), to empower enterprises via data and intelligence. Promoting the integrated development and collaborative innovation of large and medium-sized enterprises, to improve the level of intensive utilization of industrial digital resources. By strengthening the capabilities of data collection, and innovating applications, the industrial Internet platform will improve the capabilities of clusters in terms of analyzing industrial chain and enterprise digital portrait, economic operation analysis, promoting sustainable development and market supervision, etc. Furthermore, innovation and development centers for digital industrial clusters are encouraged to be built, carrying out research on the development model, development path and key technologies of digital industrial clusters in the textile and apparel industry, and formulate a roadmap for the development of digital industrial clusters.

(V) Action on Improving Public Service Capabilities for the Digital Transformation

Strengthening public services for the digital transformation of the industry, and building public service platforms, to provide services such as digital transformation diagnosis and consultation, standard generalization, and solution application promotion, and to improve the promotion of enterprise products and services.

(VI) Action on Big Data Aggregation and Development

Establishing a big data database for the textile industry, to promote the comprehensive aggregation of industry data. Build demonstration centers for industrial big data applications, to provide decision support for government departments, industry organizations, and enterprises based on the data of different industrial clusters. China Textile and Apparel Big Data Center will be built to improve the big data service capabilities. By 2024, big data centers will be found in more than 6 provinces and over 20 industrial clusters.

(VII) Action on Cultivation and Promotion of Industry Digital Solutions

Based on the common needs of the textile industry and the characteristics of the main sub-sectors, the action will focus on the key processes such as R&D design, production planning and scheduling, quality control, warehousing and distribution, environmental protection, marketing, model innovation and digital workshops/factories and industrial Internet platforms. By integrating new-generation information technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and digital twins, the action aims to make breakthroughs in a number of key digital technologies and cultivate and promote digital solutions that meet industry needs.

- Cotton textile industry: cultivating solutions such as online quality monitoring of spinning, intelligent cotton assorting, yarn quality prediction, intelligent transfer in the workshop, optimized production processes, automatic doffing, and intelligent detection of fabric defects.

- Wool textile industry: cultivating solutions that are compatible with wool processing, including automatic opening-blending- carding, digital spinning, intelligent dyeing, digital wool knitting, intelligent logistics and warehousing, online quality monitoring, and intelligent detection systems.

- Silk industry: cultivating solutions such as intelligent management and control of cultivated silkworms, cocoon sorting via machine, digital cocoon boiling, automatic silk reeling, digital dyeing, and personalized product design.

- Chemical fiber industry: cultivating solutions for intelligent appearance inspection, automatic packaging, automatic winding, and whole-process quality traceability.

- Printing and dyeing industry: cultivating solutions such as intelligent production scheduling, automatic transfer and distribution of dyes and chemicals, automatic size mixing, centralized control of dyeing vessel, automatic cloth feeding and unloading, digital color management, intelligent cloth inspection, and digital wastewater treatment.

- Knitting industry: cultivating solutions such as automatic yarn changing, automatic doffing, real-time online measurement and adjustment of yarn length and adaptive control system for constant tension, intelligent detection and automatic classification system for knitted fabric defects, broken needle monitoring, virtual design and process simulation.

- Home textile industry: cultivating solutions such as digital production lines, intelligent production scheduling, supply chain management, intelligent warehousing, smart store operations, and precision marketing.

- Filament weaving industry: cultivating solutions such as automatic feeding for warping, automatic drawing-in of complicated fabrics, intelligent detection and control of broken warp, intelligent warehousing, and integrated management of production, supply and marketing.

- Technical textile industry: cultivating solutions such as digital simulation, production management, and quality management of production processes.

- Textile machinery industry: cultivating solutions for textile-specific robots, data interconnection of textile equipment, intelligent transfer, digital twins of the production line, remote operation and maintenance for machinery.

- Apparel industry: cultivating solutions such as three-dimensional apparel design, intelligent cutting, flexible production, personalized customization, intelligent material transfer, supply chain management, store operation, platform-based design, and platform-based marketing.

- Circulation: cultivating solutions such as market management, warehousing and logistics, intelligent stores, flexible supply chains, precision marketing, and new e-commerce.

(VIII) Action on Building a System for the Digital Development of the Industry

Establishing digital development and innovation cooperation platforms for the textile industry, to foster cooperation between enterprises, universities, research institutes and end-users. Set and popularize digital-related standards and improve the digitalization standard system of the textile industry. Strengthen the research on the digital development of the industry: regularly release the report on the integration of industrialization with information technology and compile white papers on the digital development of the industry. In doing so, the action can introduce multiple resources to jointly promote the rapid and healthy development of industry digitalization and help spawn more new models and new formats.