An employee works on a cotton yarn production line at a workshop of a textile company in Kaifeng, Henan province, China, Jan 25, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Total profits of China's major textile enterprises rose 7.2 percent year-on-year in 2023, official data showed.

Last year, these companies generated profits amounting to 180.2 billion yuan (about $25.38 billion), according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

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The combined operating revenue of these firms stood at 4.70 trillion yuan, edging down 0.8 percent from 2022, said the ministry.

China's textile and garment exports hit $293.6 billion in 2023, down 8.1 percent from the previous year.

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Textile and garment exports resumed expansion in December 2023, up 2.6 percent year-on-year to $25.3 billion, the data also revealed.