BEIJING — China's textile industry saw steady expansion in the first three months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

The added value of textile firms with annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about $3.09 million) rose by 20.3 percent year-on-year, according to the MIIT.

The firms raked in 43.4 billion yuan worth of profits, surging by 93 percent from the same period last year. Their combined operating revenue expanded by 26.9 percent year-on-year to about 1.05 trillion yuan.

China's online retail sales of clothing products registered a year-on-year growth of 39.6 percent between January and March. Garment exports totaled $33.3 billion during the period, up by 47.7 percent year-on-year.