Sun Ruizhe'S Interview With China Daily

Recently, sun Ruizhe, President of the International Federation of textile manufacturers and President of the China Textile Industry Federation, gave an exclusive interview to China Daily. Sun Ruizhe said that the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP), covering 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region, undoubtedly creates more comprehensive and in-depth regional industrial cooperation opportunities for China, This will create strategic value for the diversification of industrial chain and supply chain.

Sun Ruizhe, chairman of International Textile Manufacturers Federation and President of China Textile Industry Federation

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to be tense, China's textile and clothing exports to Russia and Europe are facing direct pressure. Sun Ruizhe said that the uncertainty of global economic recovery and geopolitical issues are having a profound impact on China's textile and garment industry.

In this context, crude oil, cotton and other commodity prices remain high, and the profit space of downstream enterprises such as chemical fiber and cotton spinning is obviously squeezed. The new epidemic prevention measures, repeated epidemic prevention measures and reduced the production capacity of global industry.

The regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) covers 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The entry into force of the agreement has created new opportunities for more comprehensive and in-depth cooperation among regional industries. Sun Ruizhe pointed out that this is not only conducive to hedging the current economic and trade risks faced by the industry, but also has strategic value for the diversification and globalization of the industrial chain and supply chain.

Under the RCEP framework, the liberalization commitment of other Member States to China's textiles exceeds 94%, and that of China to textiles exceeds 95%. Sun Ruizhe said that tariff reduction commitments, rules of origin accumulation, trade liberalization and facilitation measures will be conducive to establishing closer cooperation with Japan and other countries in the field of textile and clothing.

"RCEP covers not only trade in goods, but also economic and technological cooperation, intellectual property and other fields. The introduction of advanced technology, important equipment, key parts and new models will accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the whole industrial chain," he added

In the first quarter of this year, China's textile and clothing exports increased by 11.1% year-on-year to 72.25 billion US dollars, according to the China Textile Industry Federation. Affected by external factors such as weakening global demand and supply chain problems, industry operation indicators are expected to drop in the first half of the year. In December last year, the United States passed the h.r.6256 act, trying to prevent Xinjiang products from entering the U.S. market. This will also seriously affect China's cotton textile and clothing exports to the U.S. market.

In order to help enterprises reduce risks and improve profitability, China Textile Industry Federation has guided the industry to strengthen basic research and application innovation, and achieved remarkable results. Industry innovation has entered the coexistence stage of "following, running and leading" from "following running", and has broken through a number of "neck sticking" problems in fiber materials, green manufacturing, textile machinery and other fields.

The development of platform economy and content economy promotes the upgrading of traditional brands and the emergence and rise of new and sharp brands. E-commerce platforms such as sheen and patpat are popular overseas. The changes in lifestyle and consumption scenarios accelerate market segmentation and category innovation, creating space for the development of new brands. The popularity of Hanfu and national brand has become the beginning of the new national trend. China's own brand has entered the best development period.

Sun Ruizhe said that in addition to promoting the deep integration of the digital economy and the industrial system, China's textile and garment enterprises will also strive to explore new markets and develop new technologies, so as to better integrate into the new development pattern with the domestic big cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other.

　　《China Daily》

　　RCEP weaves new relationships for apparel trade

　　—China Daily’s interview with Sun Ruizhe, president of ITMF, president of CNTAC

　　By ZHONG NAN | China Daily

　　As the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has put China’s textile and garment exports to Russia and Europe under direct pressure, Sun Ruizhe, president of the Beijing-based China National Textile and Apparel Council, or CNTAC, said the growing uncertainty of global economic recovery and geopolitical issues have had a huge impact on China’s textile and apparel industry.

　　Moreover, affected by geopolitics, the prices of commodities such as crude oil and cotton remain stubbornly high, and the profits of man-made fiber and cotton textile production shrank significantly. Also, the repeated COVID-19 pandemic waves and global divergence in prevention and control measures have weakened industrial production and logistics, which, in turn, have weakened market confidence and consumer spending.

　　He said that the enforcement of the RCEP agreement, which covers 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, will create fresh opportunities for a more comprehensive and deeper regional industry cooperation. This will hedge against the current economic and trade risks and generate strategic value for the diversification of industrial and supply chains.

　　Under the framework of the RCEP, over 94 percent of textile and garment products from China to other members will eventually enjoy zero tariffs after a certain period, and the number is over 95 percent for textile and garment products from other members to China.

　　Sun said that the tariff reduction commitments, accumulative rule of origin and trade liberation and facilitation measures will be conducive to a closer relationship between China and other countries such as Japan in textile and garment trade.

　　“RCEP not only covers trade in goods but also engages in economic and technological cooperation, intellectual property rights and other factors. The introduction of advanced technology, important equipment, key components and new patterns will speed up transformation and upgrading of the entire industrial chain,”he said.

　　China’s textile and garment exports soared 11.1 percent on a yearly basis to $72.25 billion in the first quarter, according to the CNTAC. The council predicted that the industry will experience a slowdown in growth in the first half, due to external factors such as weak global demand and supply chain issues.

　　As the bill H.R.6256 passed by the US Congress in December 2021 attempts to prevent the importation of goods produced in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region into the United States, Sun said this move will hit hard on the exports of Chinese cotton textile and garment goods to the US market.

　　Eager to enhance its earning strength and mitigate risks, the CNTAC and its member companies have made notable progress in both basic and applied research. The industry has shifted its focus from following others to keeping pace and even leading the way. Breakthroughs in technological bottlenecks have been made in the fields of new fibers, green manufacturing and textile machinery.

　　The development of the platform economy and content economy has fueled the upgrading of traditional brands and the emergence of new brands. E-commerce platforms such as SHEIN and PatPat are well-known in overseas markets. The changing lifestyle and consumer behavior have brought new markets and product categories for new brands. The love of hanfu-traditional Chinese dresses-and domestic brands has heralded a new trend known as guochao, a Chinese phrase referring to homegrown style. Domestic brands have entered a high-speed growth period.

　　In addition to facilitating the integration of digitalization into industrial development, Sun said China’s textile and garment companies will work harder on developing new markets via new technologies and the country's dual-circulation development pattern that takes domestic development as the mainstay, with domestic and international development reinforcing each other.