The synthetic leather industry is entering a new stage of deep adjustment.

Currently, domestic and international market demand is weak, enterprise costs are continuously rising, and the synthetic leather industry is under increasing downward pressure. The growth rate of production has decreased from 9.57% in 2011 to 2.58% in 2014, and the export growth rate has also continued to decline. As a result, many enterprises are facing operational difficulties, with about 20% already in shutdown and transition. Although the 2.58% low growth is an exception in certain years and cannot simply be attributed to a turning point in the development of the synthetic leather industry, it undoubtedly indicates that the synthetic leather industry is entering a new stage of deep adjustment.

A significant characteristic of the new stage is that future growth in quantity will give way to improvements in quality. The main task of this new stage is to actively resolve excess production capacity based on structural optimization and stable improvement in development quality and efficiency, vigorously implement differentiation and high-end strategies, and achieve a new balance between production and demand. In this new stage, the synthetic leather industry and enterprises must achieve breakthroughs in both cultivating new growth points and fostering new competitive advantages.

Regarding the cultivation of new growth points, the synthetic leather industry should rely on technological progress, vigorously implement high-end strategies, actively develop new products, and continuously increase the proportion of high-end products. This is a requirement for the industry to improve its quality and achieve industrial upgrading, as well as an important measure for the industry to overcome difficulties. For the industry, it is necessary to adhere to innovative supply, activate consumer demand, adapt to diversified, personalized, and custom needs, and also meet ecological and fashionable requirements. For example, enterprises can vigorously develop nano-level antibacterial and mildew-resistant, luminescent color-changing, self-cleaning and anti-pollution, scratch-resistant, and weather-resistant high-end products; accelerate the development of water-based polyurethane synthetic leather, solvent-free synthetic leather, TPU, and other thermoplastic elastomer synthetic leather fabrics; and extend the industrial chain, expand application scope, and achieve integration and cross-border development.

Regarding the cultivation of new competitive advantages, the industry must greatly improve production efficiency, vigorously promote intelligent manufacturing, networked manufacturing, and digital manufacturing, striving to achieve new breakthroughs in creating new cost advantages and technological advantages. The industry should accelerate the transformation of profit models, continuously improve factor allocation efficiency, and prioritize improving total factor labor productivity and enhancing the value of the industrial chain. Improving total factor productivity refers to the overall optimization of labor productivity, resource utilization, energy utilization, capital utilization, input-output ratio, capital replacing labor, and talent dividends, maximizing efficiency. Its essence is to improve the quality and efficiency of factor allocation. Currently, the contribution rate of total factor labor productivity to the economy in developed countries reaches 70%, while in China it is less than 30%, which is a gold mine that urgently needs to be developed.

Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by Germany's "Industry 4.0" and the American Internet industry is rapidly emerging globally. Based on the integration of informatization and industrialization, China has also proposed the "Made in China 2025" strategic plan. The fundamental purpose of this new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is to further improve production efficiency and reduce labor. This addresses two traditional issues in industrial production at a higher level: increasing output and reducing costs. This is a revolution to seize the technological high ground of future manufacturing, which must be taken seriously. For the synthetic leather industry, this is a severe test, but it also provides an opportunity for leapfrog development, allowing us to stand on the same starting line as global giants. We must combine the actual situation of the synthetic leather industry, study the industrial "Internet +" plan, closely follow the new wave of technological revolution, and take advantage of the situation to strive for the goal of becoming a strong nation.