According to the General Administration of Customs, China’s textile and apparel exports in 2024 amounted to US$301.1 billion, once again exceeding the US$300 billion benchmark, with a year-on-year growth of 2.8%. Among them, textile exports amounted to US$141.96 billion, up 5.7% year-on-year, while apparel exports reached US$159.14 billion, increasing by 0.3% year-on-year.

In CNY-denominated terms, the textile and garment exports totaled 2.14 trillion yuan, up 4% year-on-year. Thereinto, textile exports were 1.01 trillion yuan and apparel exports amounted to 113 billion yuan, up by 7% and 1.4% year-on-year, respectively.

Since the fourth quarter of 2024, global inflationary pressure has been further alleviated, and demand in overseas markets such as Europe and the United States has been picking up. Multiple factors, such as a low base in the same period of 2023 and foreign trade enterprises seizing export opportunities to cope with trade policy uncertainty after Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president, contributed to the textile exports’ rebound in December. In December alone, China’s textile and apparel exports amounted to US$28.07 billion, increasing 11.4% year-on-year. Among them, textile exports were US$13.13 billion, surging by 17.4% year-on-year; apparel exports amounted to US$14.93 billion, growing by 6.6% year-on-year.

Figure 1: Monthly Statistics of China’s Textiles and Apparel Exports in 2024

Looking back to 2024, China’s textile exports remained in the positive growth range. The increase in the export value in the third quarter expanded by 12 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter. The growth rate of apparel exports showed a U-shaped fluctuation: the export growth rate turned from positive to negative in the second quarter, and after the fourth quarter, it gradually rebounded.

Figure 2: Quarterly Statistics of China’s Textile and Apparel Exports in 2024

China’s textile industry exports to the United States, ASEAN, the European Union, and other major markets steadily picked up; the annual year-on-year growth rate in 2024 was 4.6% to 7.7%. Among them, the growth rate of export value to the U.S. has remained above 5% for five consecutive months, exceeding the growth rate of exports worldwide; the amount of textile and apparel exported to Cambodia and Thailand in ASEAN, Holland and Spain in the European Union has increased by more than 8% year-on-year. As for Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russia, and other markets, although China’s textile industry export trade growth rate was downward, its year-on-year decline rate was narrowed. Diversified international market patterns formed rapidly. The export share of China’s textile industry to the “Belt and Road” Initiative countries accounted for about 55%. Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Poland, and South Africa showed outstanding export performance.

Industry analysts say that the development of foreign trade in China’s textile industry is currently facing a new situation. The international trade environment is becoming increasingly complex, and geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism are all bringing greater instability to the global industrial chain supply chain. To stabilize exports to developed economies, Chinese textile enterprises will also actively explore emerging markets, such as ASEAN, to further promote the diversified international layout and inject new energy into the industry’s innovative development via cross-border e-commerce and other new forms.

Looking ahead to this year, international organizations generally predict that the global economic growth rate will remain at 2.7% to 3.3%. The international trade environment still faces many uncertainties, such as geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism. In particular, the United States trade policy will bring greater challenges to China’s textile industry. China’s textile enterprises will give full play to the efficiency of the complete industrial system and integrate competitive advantages, and integrate deeply into the global supply chain; at the same time, China’s textile industry will actively explore the domestic and international markets and build the “dual circulation” development pattern.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express