By Zhao Zihan

On August 3rd， big news came from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing， that 2018 World Textile Merchandising Conference will be held in Keqiao Shaoxing China from September 20th to 21st. At that time， nearly 1，000 textile industry leaders， well-known enterprises， top fashion institutions， industrial associations， design institutes and other representatives from more than 20 countries including Italy， the United States， France， South Korea， India and Japan will participate in the conference， to explore the status quo and future of the world textile industry and make suggestions for the development of the textile industry.

The press conference of 2018 World Textile Merchandising Conference was held in the Great Hall of the People， highlighting the high level of the event. Relevant leaders from China National Textile and Apparel Council， China Business Federation， China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles， and related department head from Keqiao District， as well as 40 media attended the press conference which was hosted by Qiao Yanjin， Director of China Textile Information Center.

Why to hold the conference？

The ancient Silk Road opened a new window for friendly exchanges between countries and wrote a new chapter in human development and progress. Under the new background， China has proposed the “Belt and Road Initiative”， which has been widely recognized and actively participated by the international community. It has also drawn up new blueprints and built a new platform for the cooperation and development of the world economy. The strategic deployment made by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China provided strategic guidance and fundamental follow-up for the future of Chinas textile industry. In the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics， the strengthening of integration among countries has become an important trend in the development of the global textile industry. Chinese textile industry also urgently needs to grasp technological innovation and seize the commanding heights of development in order to shape a new supply pattern with quality as the core， a new pattern of interests with a win-win goal， and a new pattern of open-oriented cooperation， and a new ecological pattern with sustainability as the standard， and to build an innovation-driven technology industry， a culture-led fashion industry， and a responsibleoriented green industry.

For the purpose of promoting and deepening high-level dialogue， high-level exchanges， all-round cooperation， and effectively promoting the international cooperation and development of the textile industry， 2018 The First World Textile Merchandising Conference will be held this September. The conference aims to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinpings important speech at the “Belt and Road” Forum for International Cooperation， follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration， and build a communication platform for the world textile， providing a forward-thinking path of thought and diversity for the future development of the economy. The conference will deeply explore the hotspots and trends of the new round of adjustment and development of the world textile industry， integrate the superior resources of various countries， promote the complementarity of all parties， and promote the cooperation and win-win between the upstream and downstream of the global textile industrial chain.

Sun Ruizhe， President of China National Textile and Apparel Council， said in his speech that the current world economic structure is undergoing structural changes， the replacement of old economic growth driver with the new one as well as the international pattern and strength are accelerating， and the global governance system is profoundly reshaped. Structural changes require us to promote the openness of the industry， deepen the multi-dimensional responsibility and common governance， and achieve common prosperity of the industry with a positive attitude and practical actions.

He proposed “four adherences” to achieve high-quality development of the textile industry. First， facing the future， we must adhere to the principle of excellence， connectivity， and openness to shape a new pattern. Second， facing the future， we must adhere to innovation-driven practices， injecting new growth drive based on science and technology. Third， facing the future， we must adhere to mutual learning， mutual understanding， and inclusiveness， to lead new development with fashion. Fourth， facing the future， we must adhere to green development， responsibility and governance， to create new space with green.

Why to choose Keqiao？

2018 The First World Textile Merchandising Conference will be located in Keqiao which is the worlds largest textile trade distribution center.

Keqiao District is Chinas largest textile industry base， with a whole textile industrial chain including raw materials， textile machinery， fabrics， home textiles， garment， etc.， as well as the worlds largest and most complete textile distribution center - China Textile City. In 2017， Keqiao District achieved textile export of 62.1 billion yuan. It is the first district （county） in Zhejiang Province with a single industry export exceeding 10 billion U.S. dollars. It has successfully established itself as a national demonstration base for foreign trade transformation and upgrading.

As a global representative textile industry cluster， Keqiao District is striving to create the “International Textile Capital”. Hosting the first World Textile Merchandising Conference is not only the concrete manifestation of Keqiaos in-depth matching of the “Belt and Road” with “Silk Road Keqiao”， but also the “highlighted appearance” of Keqiao in the global textile industrial chain. The successful holding of the conference will highlight Keqiaos industry discourse power and influence in the world textile industry system， helping Chinese enterprises to “go global” and promote the “bring in” of foreign enterprises， laying the foundation for global textile industry cooperation.

Shen Zhijiang， the Secretary of the CPC Shaoxing Keqiao District Committee， said in his speech that Keqiao has always been known as a strong economic zone “supported on a piece of cloth”. The large textile production capacity accounts for about one-half of Zhejiang Province and one-third of the country. “Under the strong support of the textile industry， our comprehensive economic strength has always been at the forefront of the country. In 2017， it ranked 13th among the top 100 national parks. It has been rated as “Chinas Top Ten Well-off Demonstration Zones” for nine consecutive years. In recent years， we have comprehensively deepened reforms， actively seized the strategic opportunities of the “Belt and Road”， and fully utilized the new advantages of “dyeing & printing + market + fashion” and vigorously introduced international highend talents.”

What is the Conference about？

The conference is divided into five main sections： the opening ceremony， the theme conference， the roundtable， the parallel forum and the visit. Among them， the theme conference will announce the establishment of the World Textile Merchandising Conference Council； the four parallel forums will themed on open， technology， fashion， and green respectively， sharing the future development trend and cutting-edge technology of textile technology， focusing on the development trend of global textile fashion industry， discussing the fashion transformation of Chinas textile and garment industry and exploring the new format of sustainable development of the textile industry. All the guests will have a look at the urban construction and industrial development in Keqiao and visit 2018 China Keqiao International Textile Expo （Autumn Edition）.

Zhu Jianming， the Standing Member & Executive Deputy Director of Shaoxing Keqiao District Committe， introduced the preparations for the Conference. He said that the preparatory work for the Conference was progressing smoothly. The organizers have already sent invitations to the world through the relevant international organizations. Representatives of industry associations and well-known enterprises from more than 20 countries including the United States， Brazil and Germany are determined to attend the conference. In the next step， the conference plan will be further refined， the content of the conference will be enriched， the publicity efforts will be strengthened， service guarantees will be strengthened， and various preparatory work for the conference will be done with high standards.

At the press conference， Chen Dapeng， Vice President of China National Textile and Apparel Council， and Zhang Weijiang， Secretary of the Party Committee of China Textile City Construction Management Committee， answered the reporters questions about the characteristics and highlights of the Conference， the opportunity and significance of the Conference for the development of the textile indus- try in Keqiao and even in China.

Chen Dapeng stated that 2018 World Textile Merchandising Conference will link the global textile industry chain resources to create new technologies， new industries and new formats， and create a good opportunity for openness， mutual benefit and win-win， and establish a global textile industry chain cooperation system. It will also open up a convenient channel for the Chinese textile industry to effectively connect with multiple multilateral resources， thereby increasing new impetus to promote high-quality development. As a national industrial association， China National Textile and Apparel Council actively implements the “Belt and Road Initiative”to promote responsible development and high-quality supply of the industry around both domestic and overseas markets and resources.

Zhang Weijiang introduced that “During the Conference， we will also release the plan of ‘Silk Road Keqiao ？ Link the World， focusing on the east and west lines： all the way to the ‘west， mainly to the high-end market in Europe and America， and strive to establish ‘Shaoxing Keqiao Pavilion in international fashion centers and the world-famous fabric exhibitions such as New York in USA， Milan in Italy， and Paris in France； all the way to the ‘east， mainly to the countries along the ‘Belt and Road， independently organizing China Textile City International Fabrics Exhibition （Overseas） and precision matchmaking meeting， and setting up textile fabric exhibition and sales centers.”

In the summary， Qiao Yanjin said that the industry expects to take the opportunity of the World Textile Merchandising Conference to create an open and efficient international cooperation platform， build a more close and strong partnership network， and jointly promote global industry exchanges and integration. In order to promote the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative， thus in a new form， textile industry between China and the countries along the Belt and Road will be closer and mutually beneficial to a new historical height.