The recent Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, Autumn Edition, held from September 2-5, 2025, served as a powerful platform to validate a significant shift in the global textile landscape: the strategic partnership between China and the ASEAN bloc. The exhibition and its related forums, particularly the key session on "Opportunities in ASEAN in a Changing Trade Environment", underscored China's evolving strategy to solidify its dominance not by being the sole producer, but by controlling the upstream textile supply chain and leveraging ASEAN as its primary manufacturing hub. This is the core of the "China + ASEAN" alliance, a more accurate representation of the "China +1" strategy in action.

A strategic alliance born from economic realities

With rising domestic labor costs, China has shifted its focus to the production of high-quality fibers, yarns, and fabrics. This move is a strategic plan to maintain control over the global textile value chain. ASEAN, with its cost-competitive labor and growing manufacturing capacity, is the perfect partner for this strategy.

The data and related reports confirm this symbiotic relationship. An expert at the Intertextile forum articulated the new paradigm: " China plus one is ASEAN, rather being endorsed and supported by China itself with the large investments and supplies of raw material?" This context highlights a central theme: the bloc's emergence is not coincidental but a result of deliberate support from China.

China's Textile (Fibers, Yarns, Fabrics) Exports: Top Destinations

Note: 2024 figures are projections based on recent trends.

The data clearly illustrates this strategic plan in action. ASEAN has emerged as the number one export destination for China's textile goods, surpassing traditional markets like the U.S. and the E.U. This is a direct result of China's strategy to provide the inputs that fuel ASEAN's manufacturing machine.

Xu Yingxin, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, presented compelling data during the event, noting that in 2024, China's and the "East China Sea countries'" (a direct reference to the ASEAN bloc) textile and clothing export trade totaled $596.5 billion, a 6.7% growth rate. This is faster than the overall Chinese textile industry's global trade increase of 4.2%, showcasing the strategic prioritization of the ASEAN partnership.

China's Investment Footprint in ASEAN: Securing the alliance

To ensure the success of this strategic move, China has become a top foreign investor in the ASEAN textile and apparel sector, creating a ready and reliable market for its textile exports.

● Strategic relocation: Chinese companies are investing heavily in ASEAN to bypass tariffs and leverage lower labor costs. In some cases, this investment is overwhelming. According to the forum interaction, a large number of garment factories in Cambodia are owned by Chinese companies or investors. This level of ownership ensures that China's textile exports have a ready and reliable market.

● Upstream control: As Xu mentioned, "According to available statistics, since 2013, China's textile industry has accumulated direct investment of more than $5.6 billion in the East China Sea". This investment in spinning, weaving, and dyeing facilities helps to build a vertically integrated supply chain within ASEAN, solidifying China's control.

● A Frontrunner in FDI: While the U.S. is the largest overall investor in ASEAN, China's manufacturing FDI in the bloc has been growing at a rapid pace. This is not just about capital; it's about supply chain control.

ASEAN's Emergence: The resilient "China +1" bloc

The data below shows that while ASEAN produces the finished goods, it exports them primarily to Western markets, completing the global value chain cycle orchestrated by China. This win-win situation was highlighted in the forum, with a speaker noting that "China has created a win-win situation with ASEAN growing as a bloc".

Leading destinations for ASEAN's apparel exports

By leveraging China's inputs and investments, ASEAN has become a powerful apparel manufacturing hub. This collective strength makes it a more resilient and strategic alternative to any single country like Bangladesh.

ASEAN (as a Bloc) vs. Bangladesh as "China +1"

China not ceding its dominance; it is simply evolving its strategy

China is not ceding its dominance; it is simply evolving its strategy. By providing the materials and investing in the infrastructure of ASEAN's manufacturing, China maintains a powerful, albeit indirect, control over the global apparel supply chain. The collaboration has created a resilient, interconnected, and highly efficient ecosystem that is reshaping the future of textile and apparel trade.

The events at Intertextile Shanghai were a testament to a new era in global textiles. Messe Frankfurt's decision to organize VIATT (Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies) in Vietnam is a clear endorsement of the China-ASEAN alliance. Olaf Schmidt, Vice President of Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt, stated that Vietnam is "definitely a relevant market" for the textile business. He added that the launch of VIATT was aimed at "connecting the entire textile supply chain". This move is a direct acknowledgment of the evolving supply chain. As Schmidt noted, the company is carefully observing what's happening in these regions to "react" and provide the necessary platforms for collaboration.