In 2017, the development of China's textile industry will present three major characteristics.

The current Chinese textile industry has entered a new normal of slowing growth. A relevant person in charge of the China National Textile and Apparel Council analyzed to reporters on the 4th, pointing out that the current development mainly presents three major characteristics: slowing growth rate, increasing development pressure, and urgent transformation of driving forces.

In 2014, the Chinese textile industry experienced some new changes, and the overall market environment of the industry was not ideal. The economic growth of the industry showed a steady but slowing trend, with the main economic growth indicators of enterprises above designated size reduced to single-digit growth, leading to significant operational pressure on enterprises. In addition, China's textile and apparel imports and exports experienced negative growth in the first month of 2015.

A relevant person in charge of the China National Textile and Apparel Council analyzed that all of the above indicates that the Chinese textile industry has entered a new normal of development.

Firstly, the growth rate of the Chinese textile industry is slowing down, but there is still progress. The Chinese textile industry, as a consumer goods industry, is closely related to the country's macroeconomic development. As China's economic growth slows down, it will ultimately affect the demand growth in the industry. Under the new normal, the textile industry has shifted from high-speed growth to medium-speed growth.

Secondly, development pressure is increasing, and differentiation is accelerating. Under the new normal, the overall operation and development pressure of the Chinese textile industry have increased, and textile enterprises, regardless of size, generally feel that survival has become more difficult. The reasons include relatively weakened demand growth, intensified resource and environmental constraints, rising factor costs, accelerated changes in terminal demand focused on personalization and differentiation, and some industries experiencing phase-specific and structural overcapacity, among other micro-market factors. The most important reason is that the original production model is difficult to sustain, while new models are still in the exploratory formation process. Therefore, under the new normal, the survival of the fittest among textile enterprises will intensify.

Finally, the urgency of transformation and the key to innovation are pressing. Under the new normal, the core of the development of the Chinese textile industry is to promote transformation and upgrading, changing the reliance on investment-driven and factor-driven growth to relying on innovation in technology, branding, management, systems, mechanisms, and business models to promote the development of the entire industry.

Industry experts emphasize that as a necessity, the market demand for Chinese textiles is still rigid, and it is expected that the sales growth rate in 2015 will likely remain the same as last year.