2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past 10 years, even earlier, China's textile industry has actively established communication with relevant industries in the "the Belt and Road" co construction countries and regions, seeking win-win cooperation across the industry chain. A number of industrial cooperation projects have "landed and blossomed", constantly "weaving" more beauty on the "the Belt and Road".
Incubation Industry of Investment and Construction Park
Among the countries jointly built along the "the Belt and Road", Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. In recent years, the textile and clothing industry has been regarded as an important industry in the country, and a series of industrial revitalization plans have been introduced, including expanding exports and improving the industrial chain, which has led to the rapid development of the textile and clothing industry in the country and also attracted a large number of Chinese textile enterprises to invest.
Lida Clothing is the largest jeans production enterprise in Ethiopia, with the entire industrial chain from cotton, thread, yarn, denim to jeans set up in the "Oriental Industrial Park", which greatly promotes local employment. At the same time, the source material cotton is purchased locally in Ethiopia, solving the problem of difficulty in importing materials due to the shortage of foreign exchange.
Drive along the Addis Ababa Adama Expressway towards the southeast for about 16 kilometers, and the huge sign of the "Oriental Industrial Park" catches your eye. The rows of factories in the park are neatly arranged, with trucks transporting raw materials and products passing through them. The park was founded by a Chinese private enterprise and is Ethiopia's first industrial park. The total planned area is 5 square kilometers, with the first phase of 2.33 square kilometers completed.
According to Lu Qizhong, the director of Dongfang Industrial Park, there are currently over 140 enterprises settled in the park, involving industries such as building materials, shoes and hats, textile and clothing, automotive assembly, and metal processing. The total number of employees is about 24000, including about 1200 Chinese employees, the rest are local employees, and 70% to 80% are female workers.
In June 2007, the Eastern Industrial Park was listed by the Ethiopian government as an important priority project in the country's industrial development plan. The construction and development of the park provide a practical reference for the implementation of the Ethiopian Industrial Park Law, while also promoting the adjustment of relevant land regulations in Ethiopia. Director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Lailis, stated that the Eastern Industrial Park has attracted a large amount of investment to Ethiopia. This has driven the economic development of Ethiopia and created more employment opportunities for our people
Not only Lida Clothing and Oriental Industrial Park. Over the years, enterprises such as Wuxi Yimian, Sunshine Group, and Jinmao Group have successively completed and put into operation textile projects in Ethiopia, forming the "Wuxi Textile and Clothing Industry Cluster" on the African continent.
In addition to Ethiopia, China's economic parks can be seen in African countries such as Mauritius, Nigeria, and Zambia. As of the end of 2022, China's direct investment stock in Africa exceeded 47 billion US dollars, making it the fourth largest source of investment in Africa. Currently, there are over 3000 Chinese enterprises investing in Africa.

The West Port Special Zone of Cambodia led by Red Bean Group

In Cambodia, the West Port Special Zone jointly developed and constructed by Jiangsu Hongdou Group and Chinese Cambodian enterprises not only meets the needs of setting up factories overseas, but also attracts domestic and foreign enterprises to settle in, building a cluster style investment and trade platform for enterprises going global. After years of construction since its establishment in 2008, the West Port Special Zone has evolved from a barren land without water, electricity, roads, and networks to an international standard industrial park with 175 enterprises from countries and regions such as China, Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, creating nearly 30000 job opportunities.
Advanced technology landing and flowering
In Khatlon Oblast, Tajikistan, colorful flowers bloom from the mountain valleys and spread all the way to the distance.
Due to the favorable light and heat conditions, Khatlon Oblast has always been an important production area for long staple cotton in Tajikistan. Driven by the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", Chinese enterprises have invested in the establishment of Zhongtai (Hatron) Agricultural Company and Zhongtai (Tangala) Textile Company in the local area, and built the largest and most comprehensive demonstration park in Central Asia - China Thailand New Silk Road Tajikistan Agricultural Textile Industrial Park. From cotton planting and leather processing to spinning, weaving, printing and dyeing, and clothing, industrial parks not only drive the improvement of cotton planting technology and the development of industrial models in Tajikistan, but also assist in the industrial development of Tajikistan.
On the farm of Zhongtai (Hartlong) Agricultural Company, 100000 acres of cotton fields are endless. The cotton fields are covered with insulation film, and underneath the film are tens of thousands of meters of drip irrigation pipelines. From sowing, covering with film, laying pipes, drip fertilization to final picking, all are managed mechanically. The general manager of the company, Wang Lijiang, said, "Tajikistan has high-quality natural resources. We have introduced advanced domestic cotton planting techniques of 'short, dense, early, and even' here, promoting the modernization of Tajikistan's agriculture

Workers operate equipment in the knitting workshop of the Tajikistan Agricultural Textile Industrial Park on the Sino Thai New Silk Road
In the third phase of the China Thailand New Silk Road Tajikistan Agricultural Textile Industrial Park, it is difficult for people not to be shocked by the clothing scene in front of them: hundreds of neatly arranged sewing machine operators, female workers skillfully cut and sew, and with the rumbling of the machines, colorful cotton cloth quickly turns into long sleeved tops. Although there are hundreds of machines working in the textile workshop, the number of workers is very small. The Chairman of the Industrial Park, Chen Wang, introduced that the industrial park uses an internationally first-class full process automated production line. Previously, Tajikistan's cotton processing volume was less than 10% of the national cotton production. The establishment of industrial parks has increased the proportion of cotton processing volume to 15% -20% of the current level. "Tao Haile, the head of the first phase textile workshop security team, said that the quality of these processed pure cotton yarns meets international first-class standards, with over 90% sold to overseas markets, bringing tangible foreign exchange income to Tajikistan.
We maintain close ties with Chinese enterprises and are also strengthening cooperation with the labor department to provide them with more high-quality labor. Chinese enterprises have become model enterprises in our textile industry. "Akmar Sharipov, Director of the Light Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry of Tajikistan, said that the China Thailand New Silk Road Tajikistan Agricultural Textile Industrial Park is of great significance for the development of the national agricultural product processing industry and trade exports, It has become the largest exporter of foreign exchange in Tajikistan, and the industrial park has provided impetus and guarantee for the sustainable development of Tajikistan's economy, as well as rich experience for the country's industrialization process.

Actively "going out to sea" to achieve win-win situation
In recent years, textile enterprises in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong and other places have taken the lead in launching the "the Belt and Road" initiative to jointly build a country. In Shaoxing, Zhejiang, the most concentrated place for textile trade is the China Light Textile City Market. In recent years, the Keqiao textile industry has faced many difficulties, such as intensified market competition, overcapacity of textile enterprises, and pressure from environmental protection reform. At present, Keqiao merchants focus on developing the "the Belt and Road" and jointly building national markets in foreign trade, such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Türkiye, and strive to achieve counter trend growth.
When talking about the remarkable changes of Keqiao textile industry in the trade of countries going to the "the Belt and Road" in the past 10 years, the head of Guanying Textile said: "More and more people around are going to Southeast Asia, especially Bangladesh, Vietnam and other countries, and good results have been achieved". The person in charge of Yixiou Textile stated, "We started our business from cross-border e-commerce, and my biggest feeling is that foreign trade is becoming increasingly standardized. The person in charge of Yongfeng said, "Foreign businesses are increasing their requirements for product quality, product update speed, and other aspects. Some foreign businesses also have high requirements for manufacturers, from environmental protection to equipment certification, so we have also complied with the requirements and upgraded all aspects.

In Jiangsu Yancheng Dongtaitou Zaozhen Industrial Park, Jiangsu Runyun Textile Technology has actively participated in the construction of the "the Belt and Road". From the initial 200 looms, it has developed in a rolling manner, adopted industry-leading technology, created unique fine management, and achieved the perfection of a single product and the full scale advantage. After 6 years, it has become the world's largest producer of high-quality synthetic fiber fabric polyester taff, with a daily output of 2 million meters, sold to more than 40 countries in Africa, North and South America, East Asia, and other regions. At the beginning of this year, it also opened up the European market.
In recent years, the Middle East and African markets have favored new styles of products such as seamless and adhesive products, and the company is constantly adapting to market changes and adjusting product production. "Zhang Weilin, manager of Guangdong Shantou Jintai Knitting Industry Co., Ltd., said that when Chinese textile and clothing products first entered the Middle East market, they attracted consumers with the characteristics of" high-quality and affordable ". With the intensification of market competition, enterprises nowadays pay more attention to brand, quality, and style.