Despite the complex domestic and international situation and the high growth base of the previous year, China's clothing exports remained dominant last year and achieved steady growth for six consecutive years. In 2023, with the optimization of epidemic prevention and control measures, many foreign trade enterprises are actively exploring overseas markets, and clothing enterprises are eager to try.

Compared with online exhibition and online negotiation, offline exhibition and communication are more direct and effective. However, this year, the external environment is more uncertain and unstable, and the shortage of external demand is more prominent. The operation of foreign trade in clothing will be further under pressure. In this context, clothing export should improve product quality, optimize product performance, ensure that orders can be held and held steadily, and achieve high-quality development of clothing export.

On the one hand, garment foreign trade enterprises should strive to promote the steady increase of the international market share of high value-added products. In recent years, the innovation of China's clothing industry has continued to deepen, and the coexistence of "following, parallel and leading" has become more obvious. The demand for enterprise intelligence, green transformation and industrial layout optimization has been released.

Clothing foreign trade enterprises should continue to strengthen scientific and technological innovation, strengthen the research and development of key common technologies and cutting-edge leading technologies, and improve the application of relevant achievements in products. At the same time, we should strengthen the research and development of precision processing technology, expand the market with high-end products, continuously improve equipment efficiency, performance and digital level, and truly realize precision manufacturing, green manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing.

On the other hand, we should avoid the rapid decline of the international share of low-end products. On the basis of keeping the export scale basically stable, accelerate the industrial transformation and upgrading, explore the innovative growth points of trade, and improve the comprehensive competitiveness.

China has a complete textile and clothing industry chain and an efficient supply chain, as well as comprehensive advantages of software and hardware, which to some extent offset the disadvantages of labor costs. For example, cross-border e-commerce and other new business forms have high requirements for rapid response and flexible production. In recent years, it is based on China's flexible, efficient and highly digitalized manufacturing industry that has developed rapidly. Apparel foreign trade enterprises should take the "industrial chain" thinking as the guide, strengthen the overall synergy of the industrial chain through strengthening the chain and extending the chain, and accelerate the upgrading of traditional industries and the cultivation and growth of emerging industries.

Confidence lights up the future. It should be noted that, after decades of development, China has obvious competitive advantages in the global textile and clothing supply chain, contributing to the stability of the global textile industry chain, and is at the core of the Asian supply chain. In particular, the overall improvement of China's economy will provide strong support for stabilizing foreign trade this year. At present, the orders of some leading garment foreign trade enterprises have been arranged for the third quarter, and the production and operation of the whole year are expected to increase with the trend.

It should also be noted that with the increasingly extensive global cooperation of garment foreign trade enterprises, they also face many challenges in overseas markets. In addition to making products better, it is also necessary to update the trade model and develop new business forms, such as global marketing channels, overseas warehousing, exhibition and exhibition, logistics distribution and other full-chain services. China's clothing industry will surely catch up with the next wind of foreign trade and set sail by strengthening confidence, improving quality and service. (Liu Jin)

From: China Economic Network - Economic Daily