China National Garment Association

China is the biggest apparel manufacturing country in the world with the production capability of 52 billion pieces per year. Currently, China has the annual output of 51.2 billion pieces. Among all industries in China, garment industry is the earliest one to enter the market. It is also one of the industries which have the strongest international competitiveness, the fastest development and the most attention.

Since the opening-up 30 years ago, Chinese garment industry has made a rapid progress. The amazing growth of domestic economy and the on-going clothing consumption demand fuel the development of China's garment industry. Preconditions of the successful growth are low cost, qualified and sufficient labor power, the world's 30% raw material resource, favorable investment environment and variety of related policies at the stage of constant adjustment and improvement. Market-oriented reform has brought unprecedented vitality to Chinese garment industry. China rapidly becomes the world's most dynamic apparel market, the most attractive investment market and factor market of talents and equipment. At the same time, the opening up of China's garment industry speeds up the process of internationalization. Large amount of overseas investment absorbed by the capital diversification not only brings advanced technology, management, marketing and international management experience, but also expedites the development of local Chinese clothing brands and modern corporate culture.

At present, there are over 120,000 clothing manufacturers of a certain scale, 11 million people working in the industry, among which more than 70% are skilled and technical workers. Overall competence is the cornerstone to strengthen clothes processing capacity. Decades of production and management experience, together with 30 years of continuous technological transformation and industrial upgrading, ensures the garment processing capacity to be at the international forefront and process apparel products of various types, grades, fabrics and technologies.

China's garment industry is one of the most prominent industries in clusterization among in China, with industrial clusters located in the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, the Bohai Sea region and the southeast coastal areas. At present, there are nearly 50 garment clusters which are of a certain scale and characterized by the product categories. The output of these industrial clusters amounts to more than 70% of the total garment production in China. Total output of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Fujian, five provinces with strong apparel manufacturing power, reaches 80% of China's apparel production. In recent years, provinces like Henan, Jiangxi and Hunan have also developed rapidly. Through the application of optimal allocation of resources, industry clusters can achieve a cost-saving and regional-scale effect. The industrial clusters will play a positive role in changing the operation and manufacturing ways of the companies.

The strong competitive advantage also comes from an integrated industry chain. The upstream firms offer sufficient cotton, hemp, wool, silk and other fabrics as well as variety of accessories and auxiliaries while the downstream companies provide adequate and systematic financial and logistics service. And IT technology has been widely applied throughout the industry chain.

Presently, the domestic garment industry is undergoing a new wave of industrial upgrading which is expected to improve the international competitiveness of Chinese apparel industry by optimizing the allocation of resources. Through advocating new industrialized strategy and brand development strategy in the core principle of "Quality, Innovation, Fast Response and Social Responsibility", the industry is committed to fostering original garment brands of strong international competitiveness, focusing on enhancing brand promotion to strengthen the industry enhancement, and creating multinational corporations. Innovation is considered as the soul of the industry. The whole industry is now adopting the idea of innovation to improve the original creation and gain re-creation ability. By speeding up scientific and technological progress and adjusting the industrial structure and product portfolio, the industry expects to have a positive change in growth mode and a successful industrial upgrading.

As an open field, Chinese garment is one of the earliest and most successful industries to introduce foreign capital. Currently, the quantity of foreign-funded enterprises, the output and the export volume of these companies cover over 1/3 of the whole industry respectively. In the process of international economic integration, bilateral and multilateral international cooperation and win-win strategy have become the mainstream of the garment industry. With good process capability and advanced original creation ability, Chinese garment industry is actively seeking extensive and deep international cooperation and looking for common development with the global garment industry.