Experts said at a recent seminar that China has become the biggest textile exporter in the world, and will likely maintain this position for at least the next decade.

Joseph Wozniak, head of Trade for Sustainable Development at the International Trade Centre (ITC), said at a high-level forum about sustainable China-EU supply chains that China’s exportation of textile products to global markets has increased eight-fold since it joined the WTO. Jiang Hui, chairman of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel (CCCT), added that China would likely remain the world’s biggest textile exporter in the next decade.

China has the largest textile industry in the world, with the most complete industrial chain and the most diverse categories. Textiles constitute an important part of bilateral trade between China and the EU.

In 2015, the export volume of textile exported from China to the EU reached $53.132 billion, and the export volume from the EU to China was over $4 billion. Both figures doubled since 2005.

Jiang used data to prove that China’s textile and apparel trade is increasing in quantity but decreasing in terms of price. He also mentioned that although external demand is robust at this moment, the market share lacks momentum. He added that the industry also faces challenges posed by slow transformation and overlapping production capacity. Moreover, the products are mainly in the middle to lower ranges of the value chain.

Jiang believes that momentum for the textile industry lies in improved quality, industrial innovation and an Internet-based mindset.