CHAOYANG, BEIJING, China — November 23, 2023 — In November, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) 2023 Annual Conference and the 6th World Textile Merchandising Conference themed on “Investing in a Greener and Circular Textile Industry” was held in Keqiao, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, located in the eastern China. The conference attracted nearly 1,000 participants from almost 60 countries and regions. These two high-end international events are jointly organized for the first time to promote the world textile industry to establish an open and cooperative, mutually beneficial, and win-win global textile supply chain system.
The World Textile Merchandising Conference consists of a theme forum and 10 parallel forums. Parallel forums include a conference on “the Belt and Road Initiative,” a round table forum of famous enterprises, a summit on textile digital inkjet printing, and a forum on the textile industry’s green development.
At the meeting, experts and representatives from the global textile industry discussed important topics such as the empowerment of digital technology, the development of smart manufacturing, fashion brand strategies, environmental and social governance (ESG), material recycling, and innovation of intangible cultural heritage.
Sun Ruizhe, Chairman of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation and President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council introduced the exploration and achievements of China’s textile industry in recent years. He mentioned that China’s textile industry plans to focus on high-performance products and high-value industries. Additionally, the industry is aiming to explore new opportunities in various areas including artificial intelligence, new textile materials, new energy, marine engineering, and traditional culture.
Keqiao, Shaoxing, one of the most prominent textile industrial clusters in China, is home to China Textile City, which is the world’s largest distribution center and offers the widest range of textile products. Chen Hao, Secretary of the Shaoxing Keqiao District Committee introduced the “Keqiao District to Build a Modern ‘International Textile Capital’ Action Plan” at the conference. Chen stated that Keqiao will effectively implement this plan to facilitate the development of the textile industry, as well as promote global connectivity and foster win-win cooperation.
At the same time, the conference also launched the China Textile City “Silk Road from Keqiao · Fabrics Connect the World” overseas public platform, which will further accelerate the pace of Keqiao’s opening to the world. This platform builds a new international trade system of “overseas station, overseas pavilion, overseas warehouse,” the first phase of which has been launched in Milan (Italy), Seoul (South Korea), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dubai (UAE) and Istanbul (Turkey).
Posted: November 23, 2023
Source: China Textile Information Center