The textile industry in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province has posted robust growth in recent years thanks to the city's sustained efforts to seek digital transformation and expand presence in the industry's niche markets.

Official data show that the added value of 742 enterprises above designated size in the city's textile industry reached 3.618 billion yuan ($ 5556.61 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 17.5 percent year-on-year.

Numerous local businesses have seen great improvement in capacity and product quality after completing digital transformation, said a person in charge of Huzhou Xinhainan Weaving Plant.

This year, the company has ramped up investment in technical upgrading, leading to an increase of 10 percent in production efficiency.

It has also developed new products, such as silk, and seized more share in upscale markets. The company's profits grew by 31.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the year.

In Zhili town, Wuxing district, an industrial internet platform tailored for the children's clothing sector has come into place.

The platform has amassed 1,532 enterprises, including 900 small and micro manufacturing enterprises. In the first three months of this year, its output value expanded 127.3 percent year-on-year to 200 million yuan.

Currently, orders received by enterprises in Huzhou's textile sector still need more than six months to complete, with more time needed in some niche segments, according to a head official from Huzhou municipal bureau of economy and information technology.

Local authorities have pledged to increase the scale of the modern textile industry to 150 billion yuan during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.