China's textile and apparel trade surplus doubled in the past decade

Over the past decade since China’s accession to the WTO, the surplus in the textile and apparel trade has doubled. In the first nine months of 2011, China's textile and apparel trade surplus was 1.64 times the national trade surplus.

The reporter learned from the China Textile Industry Association today that in the decade, the number of employees in the Chinese textile industry had grown from about 13 million in 2000 to about 22 million in 2010, of which 80% were farmers. At the same time, it also stimulated employment in the tertiary industry.

Du Yuzhou, president of the China Textile Industry Association, emphasized that the Chinese textile industry's need to expand domestic demand has played a significant role in improving people's livelihood. During this period, the proportion of domestic sales of textile enterprises above designated size rose from about 67% in 2000 to about 82% in 2010. The output value of domestic sales increased by 5.64 times over ten years. In the past 10 years, the national consumer price index rose by 25.53%, while the clothing consumer price index fell by 9.21%.

According to reports, in 2010 China's textile and apparel exports increased threefold from 2000, with an average annual increase of approximately one-fifth, accounting for more than one-third of the global textile and apparel trade volume from 105% in 2000.

The responsible person of the China National Textile and Apparel Association stated that in the future, in accordance with the requirements of the “12th Five-Year” development plan for the textile industry, it will insist on independent innovation and take the expansion of domestic demand and the prosperity of the market as its starting point to speed up structural adjustment and industrial upgrading.