From January to May 2026, the global economy remained in a complex environment characterized by slow growth, persistent inflation, and heightened geopolitical risks. Global growth forecasts were revised downward several times, while major economies continued to struggle to balance inflation control with economic stabilization. Despite external challenges and domestic pressures, China’s economy maintained steady production growth, with new growth drivers gaining momentum and overall economic development continuing on a stable, higher-quality trajectory. Against this backdrop, China’s technical textiles industry maintained stable operations, with industrial value added recording moderate growth.

Production and Financial Performance

Production growth accelerated across the industry’s major product categories. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), output among enterprises above the designated size increased by 9.5% year-on-year for nonwovens and 3.8% for cord fabric (in tyres) during the first five months of the year. Compared with the same period in 2025, these growth rates were 5.6 percentage points and 3.4 percentage points higher, respectively.

The industry’s overall financial performance also showed signs of improvement, demonstrating considerable resilience. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, during January–May, operating revenue of technical textiles enterprises above the designated size returned to growth, increasing by 1.7% year-on-year, while the decline in total profits narrowed to 3.0%. The industry’s operating profit margin stood at 3.6%, representing a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

Performance varied across different industry segments. The nonwovens sector delivered the strongest improvement, with operating revenue and total profits increasing by 2.5% and 9.9%, respectively, while its operating profit margin rose to 2.7%, representing a 0.2 percentage-point year-on-year increase. Enterprises producing ropes, cords, and cables recorded 1.8% revenue growth, but their total profits declined by 9.7%, and their operating profit margin reached 3.0%. In the textile belts and tire cord fabric sector, operating revenue declined by 4.1%, while total profits fell by 2.4%; however, the operating profit margin edged up slightly to 3.7%. Enterprises manufacturing tarpaulins and canvas achieved relatively strong revenue growth of 8.5%, but profits decreased by 5.7%, reducing the operating profit margin to 4.2%. Other technical textiles, including construction textiles and protective textiles, experienced modest revenue growth of 0.2%, while total profits declined by 11.5%. Nevertheless, this segment maintained the highest operating profit margin in the industry at 5.0%.

Foreign Trade Performance

China’s technical textiles industry continued to achieve steady growth in foreign trade during the first five months of 2026. According to China Customs statistics based on eight-digit HS codes, China’s technical textiles exports reached US$18.81 billion, up 5.3% year-on-year, while imports totaled US$2.28 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year.

Table 1: Export Performance of Major Products of China’s Technical Textiles Industry in Jan.–May, 2026

Source: China Customs, China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association

The United States, Vietnam, and Japan remained the three largest export destinations for China’s technical textiles during January–May 2026. Exports to the United States reached US$2.21 billion, up 3.5%, while exports to Vietnam grew 8.3% to US$1.48 billion. Exports to Japan totaled US$940 million, increasing modestly by 0.9%. Meanwhile, exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continued to expand steadily. During the first five months of the year, exports to BRI partner countries reached US$11.34 billion, representing a 5.5% year-on-year increase and accounting for approximately 60% of China’s total technical textiles exports, highlighting the growing importance of diversified international markets for the industry’s export performance.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express