On the morning of September 25, the CISMA2025 International Cooperation & Development Forum was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Attendees included He Ye, Vice President of the China National Light Industry Council and Honorary Chairman of the China Sewing Machinery Association (CSMA); Yang Xiaojing, Chairman of CSMA; Chen Ji, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CSMA; Jiao Pei, Executive Vice President of the China National Garment Association; Naito Satoshi, Secretary General of the Japan Sewing Machinery Manufacturers Association; Wu Jiling, Vice Chairman of CSMA; Qiu Yangyou, Vice President of Jack Sewing Technology Co., Ltd.; Inès Causeret, Product Marketing Manager of Lectra Group, France; as well as representatives from the Taiwan Sewing Machinery Industrial Association, New Taipei City Sewing Machine Commercial Association, and local industry associations from Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Shenzhen. In addition, members of the CSMA Business & Trade Committee, CISMA2025 exhibitors, domestic and international key distributors, and media representatives participated, totaling over 70 attendees. The forum was hosted by Shao Lishi, Deputy Director of CSMA’s Business & Trade Committee and Executive Vice President of the Guangdong Sewing Equipment Chamber of Commerce.

This high-level forum brought together senior leaders from major global sewing machinery markets, as well as manufacturing and trade elites, serving as an important platform for exchanging ideas and building industry consensus. As a key vehicle for international cooperation and executive dialogue in the global sewing machinery sector, the CISMA2025 International Cooperation & Development Forum, under the theme “Embracing Openness and Collaboration, Driving Innovation Together,” invited international industry associations, leading global enterprises, and authoritative experts to gather and focus on the deep restructuring and reshaping of the global apparel and footwear supply chains. Participants conducted in-depth discussions on industry trends, emerging opportunities, and new market patterns, with particular emphasis on enhancing international collaboration and building a more resilient and sustainable industrial ecosystem in the era of smart manufacturing.

In his keynote speech, CSMA Chairman Yang Xiaojing shared the achievements of China’s sewing machinery industry under the new development paradigm and offered guidance for its future growth. Vice Chairman Jiao Pei, Vice Chairman Wu Jiling, and Secretary General Naito Satoshi analyzed and shared insights on the global apparel industry landscape, the changes in China’s domestic and international sewing machine markets, and the necessity of interconnectivity among sewing machine manufacturers. Executives from Lectra and Jack also delivered presentations highlighting opportunities for apparel enterprises in transformation, the development prospects of sewing equipment, and strategies for sewing machine companies to expand internationally.

Yang Xiaojing extended a warm welcome on behalf of CSMA to all forum participants and exhibition guests. He emphasized that sewing machinery is a crucial equipment sector supporting the development of industries such as apparel, luggage, footwear, home textiles, and even automotive manufacturing. The sector sustains the livelihoods of over 100 million industry workers and enthusiasts, underpins downstream industries worth $5.7 trillion, connects markets, integrates industries, fosters innovation, bridges cultures, and serves as a critical engine for global economic growth, social stability, and improved quality of life.

Yang highlighted that, in recent years, driven by evolving user demands and technological progress, China’s sewing machinery industry has actively promoted transformation and upgrading: 1) Demand-Oriented Product Innovation: Actively addressing emerging needs for customized, small-lot, fast-turnaround solutions; strengthening targeted R&D and technology application. 2) Structural Adjustments & Industrial Innovation: While consolidating traditional applications, continuously expanding into emerging fields such as automotive interiors, healthcare, smart home, outdoor products, and industrial textiles; promoting factory-wide solutions; advancing the integration of information technology, AI, and robotics into the industry. 3) Global Market Expansion & Innovation: Broadening international perspectives, cultivating global teams, and enhancing international capabilities. In addition to traditional markets such as India, Vietnam, the U.S., Bangladesh, and Turkey, emerging markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Russia, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa are being actively developed. 4) Collaboration & Co-Innovation: Strengthening division of labor and collaboration between manufacturers and trade enterprises, enhancing market coordination and service support; establishing mechanisms for collaborative innovation, resource sharing, and complementary advantages to improve overall supply chain efficiency.

Chairman Yang emphasized that, amid global transformation and a new round of industry adjustments, the industry must move forward together and contribute to building a shared future. He proposed three key initiatives: 1) Focus on New Capabilities: Build collaborative innovation advantages, strengthen cooperation in critical technologies, overcome bottlenecks in motion control, smart sensing, and robotic sewing, co-develop international standards, and establish industry-university-research collaboration mechanisms. 2) Focus on Transformation: Promote smart manufacturing, service-oriented manufacturing, and green manufacturing, advance digital transformation, expand customized and integrated services, and drive sustainable and beneficial technological innovation. 3)Focus on Development: Foster a collaborative ecosystem, uphold openness and integration, strengthen horizontal and vertical alliances, create global information-sharing platforms, optimize supply chain coordination, and build a resilient industry ecosystem.

For the global sewing machinery industry, understanding the latest trends in each market segment and the ever-changing upstream and downstream environment is of utmost importance. The CISMA2025 International Cooperation & Development Forum was designed to address this need: a cross-border “roundtable” enabling associations, enterprises, and experts to engage in real-time dialogue. Participants noted that the forum consolidated fragmented global information into a comprehensive overview, allowing precise assessment of collaboration trends and immediate identification of business opportunities. Under the new industrial landscape, the forum serves not only as an “accelerator” for idea exchange but also as a “converter” for turning insights into actionable results, generating quantifiable, sustainable, and replicable value across the entire sewing machinery supply chain.