China unveils 15th Five-Year Plan for light industry and textiles, targets revenue of over 30 trillion yuan by 2030

September 22 — The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with two other government departments, has released the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Light Industry and Textile Sector (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan").

Key Targets by 2030

According to the Plan, by 2030, China's light industry and textile sector is expected to achieve significant progress in intelligent, green, and integrated development. The sector will steadily advance its transformation and upgrading, with an optimized structure and layout. The goal is for revenue of enterprises above a designated size to exceed 30 trillion yuan, and for the sector's position in the global industrial and value chains to be notably elevated.

Expected Indicators and Major Tasks

The Plan sets out 11 expected targets across four dimensions: scale and efficiency, innovation capacity, transformation and upgrading, and livelihood security. These include revenue of enterprises above designated size, overall labor productivity of such enterprises, industrial clusters, and employment scale.

To maintain the sector's scale advantage and significantly improve development quality and efficiency, the Plan outlines 14 key tasks and 5 special columns:

1. Enhancing Industrial Innovation Capacity

• Strengthen original innovation and breakthroughs in key core technologies
• Accelerate the efficient transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements
• Cultivate high-quality enterprises
• Special column: Key directions for core technology breakthroughs

2. Improving the Adaptability of Supply and Demand

• Enhance the capacity for high-quality supply
• Build high-level quality and standards systems
• Strengthen brand cultivation and promotion
• Special column: Key areas for improving product supply-demand alignment

3. Accelerating Intelligent and Green Transformation

• Promote AI empowerment
• Accelerate green and low-carbon transformation
• Improve the resource recycling system
• Special columns: Main directions for AI empowerment; directions for green and low-carbon upgrading

4. Expanding Pathways for Integrated Industrial Development

• Deepen cultural empowerment of industrial innovation
• Cultivate integrated smart living business models
• Promote cross-sector integration applications
• Special column: Key areas for integrated applications

5. Optimizing Industrial Layout

• Strengthen regional coordination in industrial layout (2 key tasks)

Current Status of China's Light Industry and Textile Sector

As of the end of 2025, enterprises above designated size in China's light industry and textile sector accounted for:

• 34.5% of all industrial enterprises
• 19.8% of total industrial revenue
• 20.8% of total industrial profits
• 32% of total industrial exports

China's position as a major textile and light industry manufacturing country has been further consolidated. The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical time for the sector to elevate its position in the global value chain and accelerate independent innovation. AI and green, low-carbon technologies are deeply empowering industrial upgrading, integrated innovation is continuously expanding industrial boundaries, and multi-level consumer demand is growing steadily.

Enhancing Innovation Capacity and Supply-Demand Alignment

According to an official from the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, technological innovation is a key measure to break through development bottlenecks and reshape competitive advantages.

The Plan addresses core weaknesses in certain areas and supports the sector's transition from large to strong through the following tasks:

Strengthening Original Innovation and Core Technology Breakthroughs

• Improve systems such as "open competition for the best candidates" and "horse racing"
• Support key enterprises in establishing innovation platforms such as manufacturing innovation centers and enterprise technology centers
• Define core technology breakthrough directions for 19 sub-sectors in a dedicated column

Accelerating Technology Commercialization

• Enhance the construction of pilot-scale verification platforms and industrial technology infrastructure service platforms
• Promote the sharing of inspection, testing capabilities, and major instruments and equipment

Cultivating High-Quality Enterprises

• Establish a competitiveness evaluation index system for light industry and textile enterprises
• Strengthen competitiveness analysis and research
• Cultivate more specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises and manufacturing单项冠军 (single champion) enterprises
• Support leading enterprises in building smart supply chain platforms to promote integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises

Improving Supply-Demand Adaptability

• Publish a promotion catalog for age-friendly products and services
• Compile guidelines for upgraded and innovative consumer goods
• Support the release of product trend forecasts and carry out the construction of ten categories of textile innovation精品 (premium products)
• Focus on 8 key areas to enhance supply-demand alignment: infant and child products, youth products, fashion items, elderly products, maternity and women's products, products for special occupations/regions, pet products, and productive service products

Building High-Level Quality and Standards

• Develop guidelines for light industry and textile standards systems
• Strengthen standards supply in key areas
• Revise and establish over 30 mandatory national standards
• Complete the revision of approximately 600 urgently needed industry standards
• Research and formulate AI-related standards, certification, and labeling norms for key light industry and textile areas
• Deeply implement the manufacturing excellence quality improvement project

Strengthening Brand Cultivation

• Systematically cultivate Chinese consumer brands
• Promote the construction of textile and apparel creative design leading clusters and characteristic industry clusters
• Classify and cultivate textile and apparel卓越品牌 (excellent brands), traditional advantageous food production areas, and local specialty food industries
• Cultivate professional brand service providers to enhance the value creation and international operation capabilities of light industry and textile brands

Accelerating Intelligent and Green Transformation and Driving Integrated Development

The official noted that intelligent and green transformation is a key lever for achieving quality and efficiency changes in the light industry and textile sector during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

The Plan outlines the following tasks for digital and green collaborative empowerment of traditional light industry and textile upgrades:

Promoting AI Empowerment

• Accelerate the development of vertical domain large models for key industries
• Develop and apply specialized intelligent agents for the entire light industry and textile value chain
• Identify AI application scenarios and implementation pathways by sub-sector
• Cultivate a batch of scenario-oriented digital tools and solutions
• Deploy main directions for AI empowerment across 14 sub-sectors

Accelerating Green and Low-Carbon Transformation

• Guide enterprises in green product design
• Promote "smart + energy storage" lighting systems and "home appliance + building" energy-saving systems
• Strengthen the implementation of mandatory national standards for environmental protection, energy consumption, water consumption, and pollutant emissions
• Promote clean energy substitution in industries such as ceramics, daily-use glass, and chemical fibers
• Formulate green and low-carbon technology roadmaps for key industries
• Continuously improve enterprise energy and carbon efficiency levels

Improving the Resource Recycling System

• Plan and build classified resource utilization centers for waste textiles and other materials
• Promote the construction of recycling interconnection factories in industries such as home appliances
• Orderly advance the construction of social recycling channels and circular utilization systems for waste textiles
• Encourage increased use of recycled raw materials in home appliances, furniture, and plastic products
• Promote standardized and normalized development of recycling production

Driving Integrated Development

The Plan proposes pathways for integrated development through cultural empowerment, smart living, and cross-sector applications:

• Deepen cultural empowerment of industrial innovation: Support the construction of traditional craft inheritance and innovation bases, studios, and intangible cultural heritage workshops. Develop products with both practical functions and cultural creativity. Promote the establishment of an international silk organization. Promote the integrated development of musical instrument manufacturing with music education and lifestyle. Explore the cultural value of light industry and textiles. Develop industrial tourism tailored to local conditions while ensuring safety.

• Cultivate smart living integrated business models: Implement the smart home interconnection initiative. Accelerate the formulation of mandatory national standards for smart home interconnection. Promote the innovative application of next-generation smart terminal products such as smart service robots, smart glasses, smart toys, smart watches, smart fitness equipment, and smart musical instruments. Build smart home experience centers and smart community service stations to cultivate new smart living scenarios.

• Promote cross-sector integration applications: Implement the "Textile+" initiative. Promote the deep integration and innovative application of textile science and technology in key fields. Research and formulate a "Textile+" application promotion catalog. Deepen the organic integration of textiles with frontier technologies such as biology, nanotechnology, and bionics. Propose integrated application development directions in 5 key areas: medical and health, geotechnical and construction, marine engineering, electronics, and new energy.

Editor: Wang Shidan | Reviewer: Li Zhen | Supervisor: Guzheng