(Yicai) June 29 -- Shaoxing, one of China’s largest textile manufacturing hubs, is accelerating the transformation of its core textile industry while expanding into emerging sectors such as advanced materials, as the city in southeastern Zhejiang province works toward a gross domestic product target of more than CNY1 trillion (USD147.1 billion) next year.

The Shaoxing municipal government set out a goal of surpassing CNY1 trillion in GDP in 2027 in this year’s government work report.

To achieve this target, Shaoxing will need to maintain an economic growth rate of around 6 percent this year and next. Last year, the metropolis' economy expanded 6.5 percent from the year before to CNY893.2 billion (USD131.4 billion), making it the second-fastest growing city in Zhejiang province.

Shaoxing’s modern textile and new materials industries have each exceeded CNY200 billion (USD29.4 billion) in scale, while the green chemical and high-end equipment sectors have stabilized above CNY100 billion, Zheng Xiao, an official from the Shaoxing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, told Yicai. Integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals and intelligent vision technologies are also expanding rapidly.

Shaoxing, which accounts for roughly one-quarter of global fabric trading volume, is building on this scale advantage and accelerating the transformation of its textile industry through automation, digitalization and artificial intelligence.

Yongtong Printing illustrates this transformation. Owner Zhang Jianmu took over the family dyeing business in 2008 and has invested heavily in smart manufacturing.

Since 2024, the factory has bought CNY200 million (USD29.4 million) worth of specialized printing equipment. It has added 12 digital direct printing production lines that support multiple printing processes and integrated AI into manufacturing, significantly reducing labor costs.

As a result, Yongtong Printing expects output value to surge 30.4 percent this year from last year to CNY600 million (USD88.3 million), while keeping carbon emissions unchanged. Once the new production lines reach full capacity, annual output could rise further to CNY1 billion.

Textile machinery manufacturer Yoantion Industrial, which is located not far from Yongtong Printing, has also embraced digital transformation. Last year, the company began operating a smart factory built to Industry 4.0 standards which has shortened the overall product delivery cycle by 30 percent compared to conventional factories, said Luo Yonglu, deputy general manager of Yoantion's dyeing machine manufacturing center. The firm’s new-generation automated dyeing machines also reduce energy consumption by over 30 percent compared with traditional equipment.

Alongside modernizing traditional industries, Shaoxing is also developing emerging sectors. For instance, Zhang’s son has ventured into the field of carbon fiber materials, with construction on a new factory beginning this month. Zhang said he is happy to use profits from the family's main textile business to support the entrepreneurial endeavors of the next generation.

The city's economic data suggest the transition is already gaining momentum. In the first quarter, Shaoxing's GDP rose 6.7 percent year on year to CNY218.1 billion (USD32.1 billion), with the growth rate accelerating 0.2 percentage point compared to the full year of 2025. The added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size soared 11.6 percent, 2 percentage points faster than last year's pace, according to the local statistics bureau.

Editor: Kim Taylor