Editor's note: Fostering new quality productive forces is one of China's top priorities in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Statistics showed that new progress was made in this endeavor in the first quarter of this year. Xinhua hereby presents a series of four stories that examine how China's provincial economic powerhouses are taking the lead in developing new quality productive forces. The following is the third piece, which examines how a company in the traditional textile hub in Fujian Province -- through smart manufacturing, AI design and cross-border e-commerce -- has turned high-tech garments into a fast-growing export business.

FUZHOU, April 25 (Xinhua) -- From a voice-activated down jacket and a semiconductor cooling vest to an outdoor rescue suit with real-time location alerts, what sounds like science fiction on the rack is fast becoming a booming export industry in a small Chinese city, driving hundreds of millions of yuan in overseas sales.

These high-tech garments are manufactured in Shishi, in east China's Fujian Province, by a private company called Yibicheng, and are rapidly gaining traction in overseas markets.

In 2025, the company's overseas sales exceeded 200 million yuan (about 29 million U.S. dollars), with an average annual growth rate of over 30 percent, noted Zhuang Xiaoqing, general manager of Yibicheng.

Few know that the company began as a small clothing design studio and that its founder once carried more than 7 million yuan in debt.

FROM DEBT TO BREAKTHROUGH

Zhuang has been in the garment industry for nearly two decades. In 2007, motivated by his passion for clothing, he moved from Xiamen, also in Fujian, to Shishi and set up a design studio.

In 2013, he formally founded Yibicheng. The name, which literally means "one stroke," reflects his belief in a clear goal, no fear of difficulty, and getting things done in a single decisive effort.

But reality soon hit hard, as from 2014 onward, the traditional apparel industry faced fierce competition. Rising costs of raw materials, labor and workspace, combined with poor management, led to production delays and quality issues. By 2016, the company had accumulated over 7 million yuan in debt and was on the brink of collapse.

The turning point came during an accidental online search, when Zhuang came across medical heating technology. A sudden thought struck him whether heating functions could be integrated into clothing. Realizing this might open up an entirely new path, he took on more debt and led his team to pivot fully into the research and development of intelligent heated apparel.

The first heated garment soon hit the market, quickly gaining traction through online channels in China. The following year, the company expanded to Europe, North America and Japan. With core technology in hand and its first utility model patent secured, Yibicheng entered a rapid growth phase.

In 2017, Zhuang founded his first electronics factory in Xiamen to independently produce core components such as intelligent heating chips, ensuring control over the industrial chain. As international market share expanded, he opened a second electronics factory in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, in 2019 to access cutting-edge electronics technology and talent.

That same year, riding the wave of cross-border e-commerce, Zhuang keenly identified a new track in intelligent apparel. He established online and offline distribution channels in several developed countries and vigorously promoted his own brands internationally.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while global trade suffered heavy blows, Yibicheng used the time to refine its capabilities. The company continued to strengthen R&D, accumulating technology and expanding its product line from heated down jackets and coats to variable-temperature air-conditioned suits, heated sleeping bags, scarves and gloves.

In 2023, Yibicheng achieved another leap forward by investing over 10 million yuan to begin construction of a 5G smart factory. From AI-driven design to automated production, inventory, sales and after-sales service, a modern smart factory has taken shape. To date, the company holds more than 30 invention and utility model patents.

MICROCOSM OF TRANSFORMATION

Zhuang's entrepreneurial journey mirrors the transformation of Shishi and China's broader textile industry. In this "leisure wear capital," companies once survived on meager profits from original equipment manufacturing (OEM). Today, a growing number of firms like Yibicheng are using technology as a needle and innovation as a thread to stitch together high-value-added "Created in China" products.

Behind this transformation, the government has also played its part. The Shishi Cross-Border E-Commerce Service Platform provides cross-border promotion, training and matchmaking services to small and medium-sized enterprises, helping traditional manufacturers reach overseas consumers directly and shortening the path from OEM producer to brand owner.

The year 2026 marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period. The plan explicitly calls for guiding development through new development philosophies and fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions. The transformation of traditional industries is a key battleground for cultivating these new forces.

In 2025, Shishi's total industrial output value of enterprises above designated size reached 140.45 billion yuan, with the textile and apparel industry contributing 65.73 billion yuan. In the first two months of 2026, total industrial output value had already reached 14.08 billion yuan.

"While global market conditions are declining, our overseas orders are rising against the trend," Zhuang said, adding that this year, Yibicheng's overall sales are expected to reach new highs.