The textile industry in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, saw sharp growth last year as the local government shifted its focus to transforming its development model and increasing quality and efficiency, local media reported on June 3.

"We are focusing more on taking a larger share of the global market, and trade tensions among countries have led to a sharp drop in overseas orders. We shifted our focus to improving the quality of our products, helping us overcome development obstacles and achieve high-quality development," said Pang Rongxiang, secretary-general of the city's textile association.

The textile sector has always been among the most important pillar industries in Zhangjiagang. The city currently has more than 3,100 textile firms, with the industrial output value of enterprises above a designated size accounting for 12.5 percent of the city's total output.

Due to rising labor costs and China-US trade frictions, textile enterprises in Zhangjiagang have seen sharp declines in net profits and revenue. The local government began a special campaign to improve the quality of textile products last year, which has produced impressive results.

According to statistics, the industrial output value of textile enterprises above a designated size in Zhangjiagang totaled 52 billion yuan ($7.33 billion) as of the end of 2019, with sales revenues totaling 51.2 billion yuan and profits totaling 1.4 billion yuan, up 46.9 percent year-on-year. This indicates that the city's textile industry is transitioning from a high-speed to a high-quality development model.