The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Market Regulation have recently jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Light and Textile Industry. Guided by new industrialization, the Plan systematically sets out 14 key tasks under five major directions to drive traditional competitive industries to foster new-quality productive forces.

The textile industry to reach world-leading level overall

The Plan calls for consolidating and elevating the position and competitiveness of the light and textile industry in the global division of labor, striving to better align supply with demand, meet the needs of consumption upgrading and serve national strategic priorities, so as to provide strong support for advancing new industrialization and building a manufacturing power. By 2030, the light and textile industry will achieve continuous progress in intelligent, green and integrated development. It aims to make the operating revenue of industrial enterprises above designated size exceed 30 trillion yuan, with a markedly enhanced standing in the global industrial and value chains.

“The 15th Five-Year Plan period marks a critical phase for the textile sector to accelerate optimization and upgrading and consolidate its position in the global division of labor,” an expert from the China National Textile and Apparel Council told reporters from the Shanghai Securities News. China’s textile industry has attained world-leading status on the whole, yet shortcomings remain in supply-demand matching, independent original innovation, value upgrading and industrial layout. “Non-state-owned entities and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises constitute the absolute majority of the sector. Amid complex conditions, clear policy guidance for development is particularly needed. The Plan demonstrates the state’s attention to and incentives for the upgrading of traditional industries, which will greatly boost enterprise confidence,” the expert noted.

Wu Yin, Professor at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, commented that the significance of the Plan lies in adopting a unified policy framework to connect the whole industrial chain from upstream fiber materials to end consumer goods, enabling synchronized improvement of value creation capacity across all links.

Bolster original innovation and research on core technologies

The Plan lays out key tasks including enhancing industrial innovation capacity, improving supply-demand alignment, accelerating intelligent and green transition, and expanding pathways for integrated industrial development.

On boosting industrial innovation, the Plan mandates stronger original innovation and research on core technologies. It improves mechanisms such as “setting challenges and soliciting solutions” and “horse race” competitions. It supports R&D in fiber new materials, high-end textile machinery and key basic components, special paper-based composite materials, large paper machines, high-speed shuttleless looms, and other fields. It seeks breakthroughs in manufacturing technologies for key equipment such as short-process spinning machines and automatic silk reeling machines, and features a special column for key core technology research priorities.

An expert from the China Light Industry Council said that the Plan prioritizes lifting industrial innovation capacity. It requires independent breakthroughs in key materials and accelerated localization of high-end equipment, with efforts to build a complete, secure and reliable industrial and supply chain. Promoting integration between innovation chains and industrial chains, speeding up the construction of science and technology service platforms in priority areas, and establishing an efficient system for commercialization of scientific and technological achievements will power the light industry to build a secure, resilient, coordinated and efficient industrial system and move toward the medium-to-high end of global value chains.

Full-chain empowerment by artificial intelligence

Intelligent and green transition serves as a key driver for the light and textile industry to achieve quality and efficiency transformation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The Plan calls for full-chain empowerment through artificial intelligence: developing vertical-domain large models and scenario-specific intelligent agents, and promoting generative AI for creative design assistance. It also promotes energy-saving technologies such as heat pumps, uses eco-friendly materials, develops low-carbon refrigerants, expands the application of recycled raw materials in sectors including furniture and plastics, and accelerates the construction of interconnected recycling factories in industries like home appliances.

The expert from the China Light Industry Council stated that the Plan pushes forward the green upgrading of the industry, promotes green design and energy-saving technologies, develops low-carbon refrigerants, and further advances resource recycling. This will help form a manufacturing model featuring low consumption, low emissions and high efficiency.

From the perspective of consumption upgrading, Wu Yin argued that integrated transformation essentially creates new supply and unlocks new demand through cross-border integration. “Light and textile products are naturally closely linked to daily life scenarios. Deep integration with culture, healthcare and smart living can not only expand industrial boundaries, but also generate new market growth amid weakening demand. This shift from ‘product manufacturing’ to ‘scenario empowerment’ represents a vital path for traditional competitive industries to move up the value chain and unleash new-quality productive forces,” Wu Yin said.

Source: Shanghai Securities News