There has been great improvement in product variety and quality. The proportion of chemical fibers in textile-fiber processing grew from 45 percent in 1995 to over 60 percent in 2000; the proportion of differentiated fibers in total textile fibers reached 25 percent, up 10 percent in five years. Proportions of knotless yarn and no-shuttle fabric was boosted from 18 and 15 percent in 1995 to 40 and 24 percent in 2000 respectively.

The level of finishing after dyeing and printing has also been improved. The proportion of middle- and high-class fabrics has been raised. The exports proportion of end products, such as garments, has been greatly increased. Garment exports have accounted for 70 percent of total textile exports -- a 5-percent hike over 1995. The proportion of textile products for clothing, decoration and industrial use has reached 67, 20 and 13 percent.

There has been a remarkable success in the overall adjustment of the major cities of textiles. The cotton-spinning capacity of State-owned enterprises has shrunk to the current 60 percent from 70 percent before the reduction in spindles. In some major cities, many enterprise groups and key export enterprises with international competitiveness have been established to form new, overall advantages. A total 159 enterprises have achieved a foreign-exchange income of over US$30 million from exports, and over 80 companies were listed on the stock market.

Rapid development of the non-State-owned economy: In terms of ownership structure, the pattern of co-existence of State-owned, collectively owned, joint ventures (JV) and private ownerships has been formed. State-owned enterprises account for 30 percent; collective enterprises, 26.5 percent; JV enterprises, 28.7 percent; and enterprises of other types of ownership account for 14.8 percent by value of output.

Apparent improvements in the quality of economic operations: Comparing 2000 with 1995, the total value in assets of the whole industry jumped from 830.1 billion yuan to 977.3 billion yuan -- an annual increase of almost 30 billion yuan; the asset liabilities rate decreased from 73.3 percent to 66 percent; total profit value increased from 3.27 billion yuan to 29.01 billion yuan; the rate of assets profit tax climbed from 4.1 to 5.5 percent; the proportion of enterprises running at a loss fell from 32.1 to 20.6 percent; labor productivity increased from 14,000 yuan to 25,000 yuan -- up 78 percent.

There still exist problems that should not be ignored in the development of the textile industry. Such issues are mainly reflected in the following areas: a) weak capability of technological innovation; b) low level of technological equipment and low productivity; c) irrational organizational structure d) the incompatibility of cotton circulation and export systems with the requirements of market economy; e) an immature regional complementary pattern.

In summary of the above analysis, the main characteristic of the textile industry as China's main industry in earning foreign-exchange income from exports will not change and will continue to play an important role in the nation's economy. China has a domestic market of nearly 1.3 billion people, occupying a market share of about 13 percent in the international textile apparel market. A complete industrial processing system has been formed with rich raw materials resources and sufficient labor resources. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, the comparative advantages of the textile industry for competition still exist; there is still room for further development.

In 2002, total assets of the textile industry reached 667.45 billion yuan -- up 10.05 percent over the previous year. The sales revenue amounted to 599.164 billion yuan -- up 16.03 percent over the previous year. Total profits numbered 18.652 billion yuan -- up 30.87 percent over the previous year. The number of employees totaled 4.7609 million -- up 1.04 percent over the previous year.

In 2002, the output volume of gauze, fabric, cotton cloth, blending cloth, chemical fiber cloth and silk reached 8.0175 million tons respectively -- up 15.8 percent, 22.651 billion meters (up 11.2 percent), 11.622 billion meters ( up 12 percent), 5.805 billion meters (up 3.9 percent), 5.223 billion meters (up 18.3 percent) and 833.2895 million tons (up 12.3 percent) from the previous year.

During January-May 2003, total assets of the textile industry reached 681.503 billion yuan -- up 16.46 percent over the same period of the previous year. Sales revenue totaled 260.361 billion yuan -- up 23.01 percent over the same period of the previous year. Total profits reached 7.164 billion yuan -- up 45.37 percent over the same period of the previous year. The number of the employees reached 4.8379 million -- up 4.99 percent over the same period of the previous year.

During January-May 2003, the output volume of gauze, fabric, cotton cloth, blending cloth, chemical fiber cloth and silk reached 3.6055 million tons respectively -- up 19.3 percent over the same period of the previous year; 9.260 billion meters (up 8.8 percent), 4.810 billion meters (up 9.4 percent), 2.258 billion meters (up 1.3 percent), 2.291 billion meters (up 16.3 percent) and 377.0283 million tons (up 12.5 percent) from the same period last year.

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