Keqiao to Host the 8th WTMC | International Competition and Cooperation, Weaving the Future Together: Keqiao, the Textile Capital, Welcomes the Fabric Merchants Conference Again

A press conference for the 8th World Textile Merchants Convention was held on the afternoon of October 11th at the Beijing Hotel International Convention Center. Reporters learned at the conference that the convention and a series of themed events will be held from November 6th to 8th in Keqiao, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, with the theme "International Competition and Cooperation – Reconstructing a New Pattern for the Global Textile Value Chain".

This convention focuses on collaborative innovation and sustainable development in the global textile industry, exploring cutting-edge trends in artificial intelligence empowering manufacturing, value chain restructuring, and fashion innovation, and building an open platform for international textile industry to discuss, build, and share. The convention will be held concurrently with the 2025 China Shaoxing Keqiao International Textile Expo (Autumn), Keqiao Fashion Week (Autumn), and the WGSN Fashion Future Conference.

As the host city of the World Textile Merchants Convention, in recent years, Keqiao has actively promoted the construction of a modern textile industry system empowered by new quality productivity, deepened the integration of "new" and "new" industries, created the nation's first large-scale model for a textile vertical, accelerated the promotion and application of artificial intelligence, and is committed to the digital, green, and fashionable transformation of the textile industry, continuously enhancing its reputation as an "International Textile Capital".

In his address, Sun Ruizhe, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, pointed out that the textile and apparel industry serves as an economic link connecting the global market, a bridge for cultural exchange, and an important platform for promoting integrated industrial development. Currently, with the convergence of geopolitical factors and protectionism, the global industrial and value chains are undergoing systemic restructuring. The industry is shifting from "efficiency first" to "security as well," with responsibility and sustainability becoming the new cornerstones of industrial competition.

Sun Ruizhe stated that in 2024, the trade volume of intermediate goods such as chemical fibers, yarns, and fabrics in China's textile industry reached US$81.34 billion, demonstrating strong resilience and global collaborative capabilities. Facing global competition and structural adjustments, China's textile industry will continue to focus on "technology, fashion, green, and health," cultivating new quality productivity and injecting "Chinese solutions and textile wisdom" into global industrial chain collaboration. He called on the global industry to promote development through open cooperation, enhance momentum through collaborative innovation, and plan for the future with a sense of responsibility, jointly building a safe, resilient, and sustainable global textile industrial chain.

Yuan Jian, Secretary of the Keqiao District Committee of Shaoxing City, introduced that Keqiao is one of the world's largest textile distribution centers and a world-renowned textile industry hub. In recent years, Keqiao has adhered to technological innovation as its guiding principle, green intelligent manufacturing as its path, and fashion creativity as its driving force, promoting the comprehensive leap of the traditional textile industry system towards digitalization, intelligence, and low-carbonization, providing the world with a "Keqiao model" for industrial transformation and development.

In 2024, the total transaction volume of China Textile City exceeded 400 billion yuan, with products sold to more than 200 countries and regions worldwide. Keqiao actively promotes the "Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing" initiative, exploring a "four-question-one-evaluation" model of "enterprises posing questions, government assisting in the questions, platform answering the questions, workshops verifying the questions, and the market evaluating the questions," innovating AI-enabled design, production, and transaction scenarios across the entire chain, accelerating the construction of a digital textile trade port, promoting the regular operation of the "Keqiao-Xinya" dedicated line and the China-Europe Railway Express "Keqiao Express," and building a new global textile trade hub.

Yuan Jian stated that the global textile industry landscape is currently undergoing restructuring, and Keqiao will embrace the world with a more open attitude, deepen cooperation with more pragmatic actions, and promote transformation with more innovative measures.

Yan Yan, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, stated in response to reporters' questions that in the future, the Chinese textile industry will focus on three aspects: innovation-driven development, coordinated layout, and green upgrading. Innovation will solidify the foundation for development, breaking through key technologies such as new fiber materials, intelligent manufacturing, and digital design; coordination will optimize the industrial layout, promoting domestic regional coordination and "Belt and Road" capacity cooperation; and green-driven value upgrading will deepen energy conservation, emission reduction, and circular manufacturing, building the world's largest green manufacturing system. She stated that the World Textile Merchants Conference is becoming an important platform for promoting global industry-academia-research collaboration, building an open, innovative, and win-win cooperation ecosystem for Chinese and foreign enterprises.

Song Qi, Standing Committee Member of the Keqiao District Committee, Deputy District Mayor, and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of China Textile City, introduced that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Keqiao will adhere to revitalizing its economy through reform and promoting transformation through innovation, accelerating the construction of the world's largest textile distribution center, international textile exhibition center, modern textile science and technology innovation center, textile fashion brand center, and textile headquarters cluster center, comprehensively enhancing the overall competitiveness of the "International Textile Capital." Looking towards the 15th Five-Year Plan, Keqiao will strengthen technological leadership, deepen fashion empowerment, adhere to green and low-carbon development, and expand the new track of "textile + health," using technological innovation as a fulcrum to accelerate the transformation of "traditional advantageous industries" into "modern fashion industries."

Sun Weigang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Construction and Management Committee of China Textile City, stated that Keqiao is striving to propel its textile industry from "largest in global scale" to "leading in global value," firmly moving towards the high end of the global textile value chain. He introduced that China Textile City will implement the "Silk Road Keqiao, Fabrics Spread Globally" initiative, building overseas warehouses and service stations, establishing live-streaming bases and cross-border e-commerce platforms, deepening cooperation with Milan Fashion Week, promoting the "Keqiao Day" brand, strengthening the "Keqiao Preferred" public brand, and forming a matrix with enterprise-owned brands to comprehensively enhance added value and international influence.

Pan Jianhua, Party Secretary and Chairman of Zhejiang China Textile City Group Co., Ltd., stated that the group is accelerating its transformation from a "market manager" to a "comprehensive integrated service provider for the textile industry," deeply integrating into the industrial chain while consolidating market operations. He introduced that the group is accelerating the construction of the "China Textile City Brain," integrating data systems from the market, warehousing, logistics, and dyeing industries, and promoting the implementation of projects such as the Textile Digital Trade Port, the Cross-border E-commerce Innovation Center, and public REITs, using digitalization and capitalization as dual drivers to promote industrial upgrading.

It is reported that during the 8th World Textile Merchants Conference, a number of themed events will be held, including the World Textile Merchants Summit Forum, the Global Fashion Summit, and the Digital Economy and Sustainable Industrial Development Forum. The conference will also release the "2025 Global Textile Innovation Trends Report", the "2026 World Textile Industry Trends Outlook", and the "China Textile Brand Influence Ranking".