"Expanding domestic consumption has helped cushion the negative impact on exports. In the future, the focus of China's textile and clothing industries will gradually shift from abroad to home," said the NDRC report.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show retail sales of clothing in China climbed 21.5 percent in November, about 7.4 percent higher than the average.

Domestic textile companies channeled 203 billion yuan (about 26.7 billion U.S. dollars) into fixed assets investment last year, up 27.1 percent, with most of the investment going to central China. Shandong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin reported a decline in textile investment.

This year, the profits of China's textile industry are expected to grow at a slower rate of 11.2 percent to 98.2 billion yuan (about 12.92 billion U.S. dollars), according to predictions by the China National Textile and Apparel Council.

In an effort to help textile companies improve their competitiveness and efficiency, China has set up a special fund using revenues from textile export tariffs.

The 1.36 billion-yuan-fund (170 million U.S. dollars) will be used to boost technical innovations in production, develop new fibers and help make the industry more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

In 2006, only 15.2 percent of China's textile companies reported deficits, down 2.6 percent.

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