BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 300 experts and scholars recently gathered in the city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, exploring the leading role of sustainable development in reshaping the cross-border industrial chain of the textile sector.
As a globally renowned tourism destination, Guilin is a living testimony of how "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", as well as a window to observe how integrated development between the environmentally sensitive textile industry and the international tourism city can promote sustainable development.
Esquel Group, a textile and apparel manufacturer based in China's Hong Kong, had promised the local government to achieve zero wastewater discharge when the company started to build a textile industrial park in Guilin, according to Teresa Yang, vice chairman of the group.
In order to fulfill this commitment, the company has made huge breakthroughs in the washing process, introducing new environment-friendly washing equipment with less water consumption and carrying out further research and development to realize zero discharge of industrial wastewater, said Yang.
Single production source can hardly meet global demands due to fragmented industrial chains, said Victor Fung, chairman of Fung Investments.
It is inevitable that the decentralized textile industrial chains will undergo all-round scrutiny from multiple markets, policies and people, Fung pointed out, noting that the layout of the industrial chains is largely affected by whether they can meet the requirements of local industry, environmental protection and other standards.
Industry insiders believe that the green textile technologies innovated by Chinese enterprises are now embracing broader markets, as many countries, both developed and developing ones, are putting forward higher requirements for the environmental protection standards of the textile industry.
Hau Leung Lee, professor at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University, said that the sustainable development path of the textile industry lies in the innovation of not only technologies, but also industrial development principles, standards and models.
Moving toward sustainable development, China's textile industry is showcasing the country's new momentum and contribution to the world, establishing a better image in the global market, according to Lee. (Edited by Yu Huichen with Xinhua Silk Road, yuhuichen@xinhua.org)
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