Recently, the 8th World Textile Merchandising Conference 2025 was held in Keiqiao, Shaoxing. Representatives from textile industry associations, institutions, leading enterprises, and brands across more than 60 countries and regions gathered under the theme of “International Co-opetition: Reshaping the New Landscape of the Global Textile Value Chain”. Together, they explored how to transform international competitive pressures into momentum for global collaboration and build a community of shared value through the vision of integrated development.

“In recent years, Shaoxing has been strengthening its core advantages in ‘industry + market + sci-tech innovation’, striving to build a modern textile ecosystem that integrates raw material supply, manufacturing, trade, and service sectors.” Secretary of the Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee, Shi Huifang, stated that Shaoxing will place greater emphasis on the renewal and upgrading of the textile industry, taking the significant opportunities presented by the multidimensional restructuring of the global textile value chain, and fully foster a shared and prosperous economy in textiles.

He Yaqiong, Director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, emphasized that as the textile industry embarks on the new journey of the “15th Five-Year Plan”, it must courageously shoulder the mission of being a main force in advancing new industrialization, pioneering new industrial tracks through technological innovation. The industry should deeply integrate into the development of a unified national market, optimize industrial layout, continue to deepen openness and integration to promote development, and enhance the resilience of industrial and supply chains. Furthermore, efforts should focus on intelligent, green, and integrated transformation to drive high-quality development in the sector.

Facing profound transformations in the global value chain, Sun Ruizhe, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, proposed that China’s textile industry should adhere to innovation-driven development, promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation; focus on digital-reality integration by deeply implementing the “AI+” initiative; emphasize cultural empowerment to foster fashionable expressions of ethnic and intangible cultural heritage; and prioritize low-carbon transition by advancing carbon reduction, pollution control, green expansion, and economic growth in an integrated manner.

Yuan Jian noted that in recent years, Keqiao has driven value transformation in textiles through industrial innovation, empowered dynamic shifts through technological innovation, and enhanced efficiency through market innovation, accelerating its progress toward becoming a “world-class industrial base, market, and innovation platform”. Looking ahead, Keqiao will steadfastly deepen the integration of the “Two New” policy, which means the upgrade of large-scale equipment and replacement of consumer goods, to contribute more Keqiao solutions to reshaping the new landscape of the global textile value chain.

French former Prime Minister, President of the Prospective and Innovation Foundation, and recipient of the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, discussed the future landscape of international cooperation at the conference. He stated that international collaboration should be built on four fundamental pillars: mutual respect, innovation, talent development, and open collaboration. He emphasized the need to strengthen international cultural and industrial exchanges, jointly foster consensus on global issues within the fashion and textile industries, and share the responsibility of maintaining peace and promoting sustainable development. Xu Weilin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan Textile University, underscored the paramount importance of the “Health Value” for today's textile industry. He stated that due to the diverse types, superior properties, and advanced processing techniques of fiber materials, the textile sector is uniquely positioned to better serve the health and wellness field.

Matthias W. Gluth, Managing Director of Dornbirn-GFC, Chen Lei, Chairman and President of Tongkun Group Co., Ltd., and Wu Zhunyong, CEO of MISTO (Shanghai) Brand Management Co., Ltd. and COO of MISTO Hong Kong Ltd., delivered thematic presentations from the perspectives of material innovation, supply chain collaboration, and brand building, respectively.

The Conference also witnessed the launch of “2026 World Textile Industry Trend Outlook”, the “Keqiao Selected” brand promotion, the upgraded “AI Fabric 2.0” large model for textile industry, the “Cloud-Linked Global Fabric” project, and the Digital New Silk Road, which is China Textile City’s overseas exhibition and trade alliance. These launches mark concrete steps in providing "Keqiao Solutions" to foster collaborative innovation across the global textile industry.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express