The company said for swimsuits that people wear at seaside, the designs will mainly feature fast drying and sunproof functions, and two-piece styles. For swimming pools, it will mainly feature sporty styles and functionality. It will also explore more functional fabrics that are more comfortable and size-inclusive.

The company has enjoyed its fame at home and abroad. Its products have been exported to more than 10 countries globally, including France, Germany, Italy and the US.

Most of Balneaire's consumers in the overseas markets are women aged between 18 and 40, as well as those who purchase plus-size swimwear products. Besides, the company also sells accessories to male consumers abroad, it said.

Balneaire will jointly build a laboratory with fabrics company Lycra to develop cutting-edge smart fabrics for swimwear collections. The location for the laboratory has not yet been identified, said company officials.

Since the pandemic, Chinese consumers have been paying more attention to health, and the country is embracing a fitness wave.

Zhong Nanshan, a leading respiratory disease expert and doctor, is a strong advocate of swimming and says it not only provides strong individual immunity, but also is a good protective measure to combat several diseases.

Balneaire said the trend has fueled the popularity of people going swimming and doing exercises more frequently. It will develop both trendy swimwear and sportswear products such as yoga apparel, as it is bullish on sustained growth.

Currently, China has three large-scale swimsuit manufacturing bases. They are located in Xingcheng of Liaoning province, Jinjiang of Fujian province, and Yiwu of Zhejiang province.

As of last year, China had more than 15,000 swimsuit-making companies, with Liaoning in Northeast China accounting for more than 8,000 companies, according to Qichacha, a leading credit record investigation agency in the country.

Wu Yong in Shenyang, Liaoning province, contributed to this story.