Amid the restructuring of the global industrial chain and as the 14th Five-Year Plan period draws to a close, China’s textile machinery industry has stayed resilient, withstood pressure, and driven development through innovation. It has achieved steady expansion in industrial scale, continuously consolidated its global market position, upgraded core technologies, and opened new prospects amid major changes.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s textile machinery industry successfully dealt with many challenges, such as the pandemic and international trade frictions. It also made great progress in intelligent manufacturing, green development and industrial upgrading. The industry is very resilient. In the past five years, it has kept a generally upward trend and optimized its structure. It has performed well in market scale, import and export trade and other fields.

Steady Growth in Market Scale

According to statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association and the General Administration of Customs, at the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (end of 2020), the main business revenue of above-scale textile machinery enterprises in China reached approximately 73.073 billion yuan. In 2021, it rose to 94.897 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.28%. The figure continued to climb in 2022 and 2023, reaching 96.639 billion yuan and 105.025 billion yuan respectively. By 2024, the industry’s main business revenue grew to 117.839 billion yuan.

In the first three quarters of 2025, main business revenue decreased by 4.38% year-on-year, a trend that may continue for the full year. Overall, however, the industry has maintained steady growth over the past five years.

In terms of industry profits: at the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, 644 above-scale enterprises achieved a total profit of 5.544 billion yuan. By the end of 2024, 870 above-scale enterprises recorded a total profit of 8.820 billion yuan. Over four years, the number of above-scale enterprises increased by more than 220, and industry profits rose by 3.276 billion yuan.

In the first three quarters of 2025, total profits of above-scale enterprises decreased by 17.82% year-on-year, but rebounded by 2.37 percentage points from the first half of the year.

Total assets of above-scale textile machinery enterprises maintained stable growth from 2020 to 2024, representing generally healthy expansion.

In recent years, textile machinery enterprises have accelerated competitiveness building in line with the development trends and practical needs of the textile industry.

On the one hand, enterprises have invested in high-end equipment, digital systems, and green assets to improve product quality, production efficiency, and manufacturing capabilities, reflecting the shift toward intelligent, efficient, and low-carbon operations and continuous optimization of asset structure.

On the other hand, responding to diversified and differentiated equipment demand from textile manufacturers, textile machinery companies have increased R&D investment in customized solutions, differentiated development, and continuous technological iteration, effectively aligning with market needs.

In addition, enterprises have strengthened resource allocation to address supply chain issues, raw material price fluctuations, and international trade barriers, enhancing resilience against market shocks.

Strong Export Momentum

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s textile machinery industry improved its international trade capabilities continuously, supported by accelerated technological advancement, improved product performance, and enhanced service capacity, resulting in strong export growth.

Statistics show that the total import and export volume of textile machinery stood at 7.454 billion USD in 2020, rose to 8.442 billion USD in 2021, climbed to 8.746 billion USD in 2022, fell to 7.509 billion USD in 2023, dropped to 7.026 billion USD in 2024, and reached 6.556 billion USD in the first three quarters of 2025; regarding imports over the past five years, the import volume was 2.886 billion USD in 2020, 3.636 billion USD in 2021, 3.209 billion USD in 2022, 2.964 billion USD in 2023, 2.340 billion USD in 2024, and 2.040 billion USD in the first three quarters of 2025; China has maintained a trade surplus in textile machinery since 2015 with sustained strong export momentum, and its exports were 4.568 billion USD in 2020, 4.806 billion USD in 2021, 5.537 billion USD in 2022, 4.543 billion USD in 2023, 4.686 billion USD in 2024, and 4.516 billion USD in the first three quarters of 2025, up 35.33% year-on-year.

In 2020, China exported textile machinery to about 192 countries and regions. Today, the figure has expanded to more than 200, with a growing global footprint.

Industry analysis shows that China’s textile machinery exports accounted for 29% of the global total in 2024, and this share is expected to rise further in 2025.

Meanwhile, in the Chinese market, China’s textile machinery has continuously increased its market share, now exceeding 75%.

A large number of automated, intelligent, and continuous equipment and technologies have supported the high-quality transformation and upgrading of China’s textile industry, with remarkable results in the construction of digital production lines in cotton spinning, chemical fiber, and other sectors.

“Digital factories,” “intelligent workshops,” and even “lights-out factories” have emerged, creating a series of benchmark modern textile manufacturing bases.

Declining Imports Year by Year

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China remained one of the world’s largest importers of textile machinery.

From 2020 to 2024, China’s total textile machinery imports ranked first globally at approximately 15.038 billion USD, accounting for 17% of the top 10 importing countries and regions.

• India ranked second with 10.353 billion USD (11%)
• Turkey third with 8.763 billion USD (10%)
• United States fourth with 5.316 billion USD (6%)
• Vietnam fifth with 4.394 billion USD (5%)

Major import sources included Japan, Germany, Italy, Taiwan region of China, France, Switzerland, and Belgium. Imported equipment mainly covered chemical fiber machinery, spinning machinery, auxiliary devices, and parts.

From 2020 to the first three quarters of 2025:

• Imports from Japan reached 6.581 billion USD, ranking first, focusing on chemical fiber machinery, spinning machinery, and weaving machinery.
• Imports from Germany totaled nearly 5 billion USD, mainly chemical fiber machinery and auxiliary equipment.
• Imports from Italy amounted to 1.26 billion USD, focusing on spinning, dyeing & finishing, and knitting machinery.
• Imports from France reached about 520 million USD, mainly spinning and nonwoven equipment.
• Imports from Taiwan region of China totaled about 426 million USD, covering chemical fiber, knitting, nonwoven, and dyeing & finishing machinery.

Conclusion & Outlook

At the juncture of the conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the opening of a new journey, China’s textile machinery industry has delivered a strong and impressive performance:

• Revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan
• Continuously expanding trade surplus
• Chinese market share above 75%
• Global presence covering more than 200 countries and regions

From import dependence to import substitution, from tentative overseas expansion to global positioning, and from single equipment supply to full-chain intelligent empowerment, China’s textile machinery has continuously strengthened its competitiveness in the global industrial landscape.

Looking ahead, backed by core technological innovation and driven by industrial upgrading, China’s textile machinery industry will continue to move toward intelligence, green development, and high-end manufacturing.

By deepening core technologies, optimizing global layout, and improving service capacity, it will solidify the equipment foundation for the high-quality development of China’s textile industry, while contributing Chinese manufacturing strength to the transformation and upgrading of the global textile industry.