BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- With the rapid development of the digital economy, many traditional industries in China, including the apparel industry, are being innovated.
On the flexible production line of Hanbo Group, one of China's biggest producers of women's apparel located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, sewing machines are connected to a network through sensors, and a worker is able to simultaneously operate several production processes by using computers instead of working on only one process.
"In the past, one style of apparel usually stayed unchanged for a few weeks, but now styles change every day," said Gao Min, president of Hanbo Group. "With the help of digital technology, we have realized small-scale flexible production to cater to various demands in the market. And now our products are selling more quickly and more orders are coming."
Likewise, Yishang town in Zhejiang Province, a hub for apparel manufacturers, has turned itself into a sharing platform of design, supply chains and manufacturing, attracting several hundred designers and many foreign and domestic name brands.
Statistics show that the scale of China's digital economy reached 31.3 trillion yuan (4.54 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2018, accounting for 34.8 percent of the country's GDP.
The digital technologies are helping promote innovations in all fields to expand rapidly, and China should seize this opportunity to rebuild its competitiveness, said Wang Xinzhe, chief economist with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Statistics from the MIIT show that over 100 Chinese cities have deployed pilot G-Byte broadband networks, up to 98 percent of rural areas have been connected to a broadband network, and the level of 4G coverage in China ranks first in the world.
A good foundation of networks and decreasing costs will stimulate the vigor of technology innovation and enlarge the market space, said Wen Ku, an official with the MIIT.
Wang Xinzhe pointed out that China will promote international cooperation in the digital economy with a more open attitude, and bring more opportunities to the world in the digital era.
