Home News & Events Analysis of China’s Technical Textiles Industry Performance in the First Half of 2026 2026/8/24 In the first half of 2026, global economic growth generally slowed amid the dual impacts of geopolitical conflicts and the en
2026/8/24
In the first half of 2026, global economic growth generally slowed amid the dual impacts of geopolitical conflicts and the energy crisis, while inflationary pressures intensified in many countries. China’s domestic economy withstood external pressures and maintained a generally stable trajectory, with continued progress toward innovation-driven and higher-quality development, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality.
Against this backdrop, China’s technical textiles industry maintained a generally stable and improving performance. Growth in industrial added value rebounded markedly compared with the second half of 2025, while production and exports achieved medium-to-high growth. However, the industry’s overall profitability remained under pressure.
According to a survey conducted by the China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA), the industry prosperity index stood at 63.5 in the first half of 2026 (Figure 1), remaining in expansion territory. The index improved from the first quarter but edged down slightly from the end of 2025. Entrepreneurs’ perceptions of business conditions were better than in the same period of 2025.
Figure 1: Prosperity Index of China’s Technical Textiles Industry
Source: China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association
I. Market Demand and Production
In the first half of 2026, both domestic and overseas demand for China’s technical textiles industry improved.
According to a survey of key member enterprises, the domestic and overseas order indices reached 62.8 and 63.0, respectively (Figure 2), from January to June, up 6.2 points and 11.8 points from the same period in 2025. However, order conditions varied significantly by enterprise size. Large enterprises generally had sufficient and stable order backlogs, supporting continuous production over a relatively long period. The proportion of medium-sized enterprises obtaining stable orders fell by around 20% compared with 2025. Small and micro enterprises had relatively weak order reserves, with half reporting that their current orders could sustain operations for no more than one month. Meanwhile, cyclical fluctuations in procurement in certain application markets also affected industry demand to some extent.
Figure 2: Domestic and Overseas Market Demand for China’s Technical Textiles Industry from 2025 to June 2026
Source: China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association
Production maintained relatively rapid growth in the first half of 2026, with the monthly production index remaining in expansion territory. According to the association’s survey, the capacity utilization rate of sample enterprises reached 79.4% from January to June, up 3.2 percentage points year-on-year. Around 20% of enterprises surveyed reported capacity utilization rates above 90%.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, output of nonwovens by enterprise
