Promote the transfer of the textile industry with the market

At present, under the guidance of state policies, some local governments in the eastern coastal provinces have also tried to promote the relocation of local textile enterprises. Some local governments in the central and western regions have also actively taken over textile enterprises.

Huang Weiting, Doctor of Economics, Economic Research Institute, National Development and Reform Commission

On May 15th, the National Textile Industry Transfer Conference was held in Chongqing. The achievements of the industrial transfer of the textile industry over the past few years are obvious to all. However, I believe that in the actual operation, there are still some important issues that need to be vigilant.

In 2010, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology formulated the "Guidance Opinions on Promoting the Transfer of the Textile Industry". The "Twelfth Five-year Development Plan for the Textile Industry" released in early 2012 also made a special discussion on the optimization of the spatial layout of the textile industry. These policies and measures will inevitably have an important impact on the adjustment of the spatial layout of China's textile industry. However, under the market economy system, the adjustment of the spatial layout of the textile industry is a government-led, market-led economic process, and the direction and scale of adjustment will ultimately depend on the company. In the process of adjusting the spatial layout of China's textile industry in the future, the author believes that the market mechanism should play a leading role.

The spatial layout of the textile industry ultimately depends on two major factors: demand and supply. Before the founding of New China, due to the combined effects of water resources, population distribution and agricultural fiber production, the spatial layout of China's textile industry was mainly in the eastern region, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the textile industry was not only dependent on the development path, but also filled with new technological and industrial changes. The industrial layout was mainly influenced by non-natural factors such as the economy and even politics. On the whole, 30 years after the founding of New China, China's textile industry still uses the eastern coast as the main base. However, under the guidance of “largely dispersed and small concentration”, other regions have also formed a certain number of textile industry bases. Reform and opening up have had a fundamental impact on the development of the textile industry. Under the grand strategy of encouraging the eastern region to take the lead in development, many factors such as the development of private economy and the undertaking of overseas transfer have promoted the rapid development of the textile industry in the eastern coastal areas. The current value of the textile industry in the eastern region accounts for about 80% of the country's total, and many industrial clusters have formed.

Starting from the early 1990s, under the background of overcapacity and rising element costs in the eastern region, the country decided to implement the strategy of “moving eastwards to west”. Shanghai and Xinjiang are the most representative places for transfer and transfer. According to statistics, under the state plan arrangement, Shanghai cotton spindles are compressed from the original 2.5 million spindles to 700,000 spindles, and 550,000 employees are reduced to more than 50,000 in the industry. A total of 600,000 spindles of production capacity have been transferred to Xinjiang. The strategy of “moving eastwards to west” seems to be in line with the law of industrial development. However, reality has made different assessments. After 10 years of “moving eastwards to the west”, in 2005 Shanghai ranked the textile industry as a major representative of the metropolitan industry, and built Jinshan District into a textile industrial zone, focusing on attracting domestic and foreign capitals; Because there is no corresponding support in terms of technical equipment, talent reserves, etc., the industrial scale effect is not high. Even if there are preferential policies of the country, many companies still have no benefit. This kind of government-led industrial transfer process in the form of storm-induced rains, due to the lack of an effective market mechanism, has in fact not brought about the optimization of the spatial layout of China's textile industry.

At present, under the guidance of state policies, some local governments in the eastern coastal provinces have also tried to promote the relocation of local textile enterprises. Some local governments in the central and western regions have also actively taken over textile enterprises. However, according to the field survey, there are still some important issues that need to be vigilant during the actual operation.

In the process of implementing the industrial upgrading strategy of “changing cages and changing birds” in the eastern region, some local governments subjectively believe that the textile industry is the “bird” that needs to be replaced and the textile industry “close the land gate”. This is not only an industry upgrade. The major deviations in the understanding of connotation are also clearly contrary to market fairness, and it is a means for local governments to transfer their industries in disguise. In addition, some local governments and enterprises ignore the laws of the market. For the sake of short-term performance, one side has quietly brought in industries that do not meet the law of development in order to obtain the benefits of zero land prices, interest-free spending, and tax exemption. Ultimately, it is “recruiting and staying.” Can't live, and has brought impact on the development of other growth companies.

In the new round of textile industry transfer, we must be alert to these erroneous practices and let the market mechanism play a leading role. The industrial chain of the textile industry is relatively long, and some links require higher resource conditions. Only after a comprehensive consideration of demand factors and supply factors, especially potential markets and industry support, will companies be willing to move out of the country when the overall cost of operations exceeds revenue. The new round of adjustment of the spatial layout of the textile industry will be a relatively long process.