China produced 45.6 billion items of clothes in 2018 -- making it the largest garment manufacturer in the world! Does this make you wonder #HowChinaCan do this? Find out in the 9th episode of our explainer series! #NewChina70Years

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the per capita clothing consumption of Chinese urban residents has increased 53.6 times while that of rural residents has increased 82 times from getting its population dressed warmly to dressed well.

Chinese people consider food, shelter, means of travel and clothes as basic needs. For a country with profound culture and traditions, clothing is one of the most important aspects.

China is the world's largest garment manufacturer and consumer market now. Domestic apparel sales total 430 billion U.S. dollars a year.

How many clothes can China make?

In 1949, China's textile industry was not self-sufficient. There were only 58 textile plants or workshops across China. In just one year, the number of cotton textile mills increased to more than 250.

The rapid development began in 1978 when China launched its reform and opening-up policy. Since then, China's clothing consumption has increased more than 40-fold.

China is now the world's largest apparel retail market. In 2018, China produced about 45.6 billion garments.

Behind the production of more than 45 billion garments every year is China's complete clothing industry chain. China produces around 6 million tons of cotton a year, making it the world's largest cotton producer.

The Chinese mainland is the world's largest producer of chemical fiber. Its output accounts for more than 70 percent of the world's total.

In 30 years, the annual production of chemical fiber in China increased from 1 million tons to 50 million tons. China's 16,000 most productive companies can produce more than 22.2 billion garments a year.

Smart manufacturing is changing China's traditional way of clothing production.

China is also ramping up investment into fashion design to make local brands more valuable and to train world-class designers.

This aims mainly to meet the rising demands of the Chinese people.■