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Light hydrocarbons and aromatics are the \"lifeblood\" and \"foundation\" of the petrochemical industry. In recent years, China’s light hydrocarbon and aromatic hydrocarbon industries have achieved remarkable development results: their production capacity remains the highest in the world, and the safety of their industrial chains has improved significantly... At the same time, the industry is facing the challenge of higher revenues without corresponding increased profits, as well as increasingly fierce international competition. How can the industry break through the bottleneck of being large but not strong? At the 2025 Light Hydrocarbons and Aromatics Industry Development Conference held on November 13, experts noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China’s light hydrocarbons and aromatics industries will pursue a strategy based on excellence, focusing on the vast markets in the new economy sector. This approach will help to continuously improve the industry’s structural layout, energy consumption levels, and core competitiveness, enabling a transition from leading in terms of scale to achieving success through quality. The light hydrocarbons and aromatics industries achieved excellent results during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with their product output remaining at the world’s leading level. Qu Hui, director of the Industry Development Department of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (hereinafter referred to as CPCIF), said that during this period, China’s light hydrocarbons and aromatics industries accomplished remarkable results. First, the scale of the industry continues to grow. The production capacities for ethylene and p-xylene (PX) reached 54.55 million tons per year and 42.77 million tons per year respectively, accounting for 24.2% and 50.8% of the global total; the output of these products ranks first in the world ； The ethylene equivalent self-sufficiency rate has risen to 69.1%, while the PX self-sufficiency rate has reached 80.2%, thereby strengthening the foundation for the security of industrial chains and supply chains and contributing Chinese strength to the steady development of the global petrochemical industry. Second, the industrial layout continues to improve. The agglomeration effects of the seven major petrochemical bases and modern coal chemical industry demonstration zones are becoming more prominent, with large-scale integrated refining and chemical projects further concentrating in the coastal petrochemical bases. The industrial chains for olefins and aromatics are continuously being upgraded and optimized, with a significant improvement in the lightness and diversity of ethylene raw materials. Third, there have been fruitful achievements in technological innovation. The industry has overcome a number of critical technologies; for example, the technology for producing olefins from methanol has been continuously improved, and its scale of application leads the world ； Metallocene polyolefins, polyolefin elastomers, high-end electronic chemicals, etc. have been made domestically. The comprehensive utilization technology for light hydrocarbons has reached international advanced levels, with significant improvements in raw material adaptability and efficiency. Fourth, the green and low-carbon transition is accelerating. The energy intensity in the industry has decreased by more than 2%; the energy consumption per unit of olefin production has been further reduced, while emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides have been significantly cut. With the thorough implementation of documents such as the “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Petrochemical Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period”, the construction of zero-carbon factories and smart industrial parks has seen rapid progress. Nearly 50 chemical industrial parks have been included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “List of Smart Chemical Industrial Parks”. The transition toward greener and smarter operations has now become a industry-wide consensus and a collective action. “Behind these \"excellent results\" lie underlying concerns; the problem of \"increased revenue without corresponding increased profits\" is prominent. \"These solid achievements have laid a solid foundation for us to move toward a higher level of development.\" ”Qu Hui said, “At the same time, we are also fully aware that the industry is facing unprecedentedly complex challenges.” ”He mentioned that after a rapid expansion of production capacity during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the balance between market supply and demand gradually became disrupted; negative effects have already appeared, with severe competition among enterprises and a continuous decline in their profitability. “Since reaching a historical high in 2021, the profit levels of China’s petroleum and chemical industry have been declining year by year, with the problem of rising revenues without corresponding increases in profits becoming increasingly prominent. ”Qu Hui said that declining profits have put the production and operations of petrochemical enterprises in difficulty; some sectors involving bulk petrochemical products and basic chemical raw materials have even incurred losses, which has affected the industry’s investment in safety, environmental protection, and technological innovation, thereby weakening the sector’s overall capacity for sustainable development. He said that in addition, the industry also faces multiple challenges, such as the increased uncertainty resulting from the profound restructuring of global supply chains ； There are still bottlenecks in key areas such as high-end specialty chemicals and core catalysts ； Resource and environmental constraints are becoming increasingly stringent, and the pressure to achieve the \"dual carbon\" goals continues to rise ； The international competitive landscape is undergoing profound changes, and it is imperative to enhance global competitiveness. Li Suoshan, chairman of the Light Hydrocarbons and Aromatics Committee of Sinopec and secretary of the Party committee of Sinopec Chemical Logistics Co., Ltd., pointed out that currently, key downstream industries such as the home appliance industry, the textile and apparel industry, and the packaging industry have all entered a period of adjustment; traditional demand is no longer sufficient to support the rapid development of the petrochemical industry. “The international competitiveness of China’s olefin industry still needs to be further improved. ”Bai Xuesong, deputy chairman of the Special Committee on Light Hydrocarbons and Aromatics at Sinopec, as well as a member of the Party Committee and assistant to the director of the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Planning Institute, said that currently, products from the Middle East and North America enjoy a clear advantage in terms of low-cost raw materials. In contrast, China’s bulk raw materials are mainly used to support downstream projects, resulting in higher costs ； Western Europe and Japan are competing fiercely in the market for high-end materials, while our country has shortcomings in terms of differentiated and high-end products, and its self-sufficiency rate needs to be improved. The new economy sector opens up opportunities in downstream areas; by focusing on both product improvement and structural optimization, challenges also hide opportunities within them. The rapid growth of the new economy sector has provided the industry with vast downstream opportunities. Li Suoshan specifically mentioned the automotive industry, new energy, intelligent robots, and electronic chemicals sectors. He said, “Driven by emerging fields in the future, it is expected that China’s chemical new materials sector will maintain a growth rate of over 7% during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, with some products seeing growth rates of 15% to 20%; by 2030, the market size is expected to reach around 69 million tons.” ”Bai Xuesong mentioned that the new materials industry urgently needs to move toward independent innovation and higher-end development. There is a structural shortage of products in the supply and demand of new materials in our country. In the future, continuous innovation will be pursued in the field of fine chemicals and new material technologies, with greater efforts being made to develop and apply new high-value synthetic resins as well as specialty chemicals, in order to address this structural shortage and promote the advancement of the product structure toward higher-end levels. He further pointed out that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a notice on organizing the implementation of innovation projects for key fine chemical products in 2025. This notice focuses on 50 key fine chemical products that are technologically advanced, innovative, and of high practical value, categorized into three groups: 50 intermediate raw materials, key materials, and critical equipment. It aims to promote independent innovation in high-end materials as well as their core raw materials and related equipment. This has injected a \"boost\" into the future development of the industry. At the meeting, the reporter learned that currently, enterprises and research institutions such as Sinopec, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lumas Technology Company, China Kunlun Engineering Corporation, and the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry are focusing on increasing the added value of the light hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons industries. They have achieved numerous results, which is helping to drive the development of this industry in terms of higher quality, greater precision, and greater differentiation. The high-end transformation of the light hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons industries will also contribute to the upgraded development of downstream markets. Shen Shaochun, a researcher at Sinopec (Shanghai) New Materials Research Institute Co., Ltd., said that in the future, the industry will leverage its advantages in terms of raw materials, market access, and policies to establish a complete industrial chain that spans from crude oil to high-end material products. This will enable self-sufficiency in key new materials, thereby driving simultaneous upgrades in downstream industries such as automotive, new energy, healthcare, and electronics. Sailing toward \"newness\" and \"greenness\": The light hydrocarbon and aromatic hydrocarbon industries strive for excellence. How should these industries meet challenges and seize opportunities? Qu Hui suggested that for the light hydrocarbons and aromatics industries to achieve high-quality development, it is first necessary to accelerate the optimization of the structure of refining facilities and to make a scientific plan for the production of olefins and aromatics from coal, while also promoting diversification of olefin feedstocks ； By staying closely aligned with the domestic economic cycle, efforts are focused on making breakthroughs in key new materials such as high-end polyolefins, special engineering plastics, high-performance synthetic rubbers, electronic chemicals, and high-performance membrane materials. This aims to provide solid support for strategic emerging sectors such as new energy vehicles and aerospace, while establishing an industrial chain that is self-sufficient, secure, and efficient. Secondly, it is necessary to strengthen original innovation and efforts to develop key core technologies, in order to overcome the technical barriers related to high-end catalysts, the direct conversion of crude oil into chemicals, as well as low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies ； To meet the needs of high-end manufacturing, we will accelerate the industrialization and broader application of high-tech materials such as cycloolefin copolymers, polyimides, and carbon fibers. Proactively investing in future sectors such as the low-altitude economy, humanoid robots, and quantum technology to foster disruptive technologies and projects ； Strengthen basic research, improve R&D verification and pilot-scale transformation platforms, accelerate the implementation of innovative achievements, and build new competitive advantages for the industry. Deepen international cooperation, pool global expertise, and seize the high ground for future development. At the same time, Qu Hui believes that it is also necessary to promote the deep integration of digital and intelligent technologies with traditional industries, and to actively explore the application of green technologies such as nuclear energy integration and green electricity and hydrogen. At the same time, it is essential to improve the governance system and uphold the bottom line of safety for the industrial and supply chains. Establish an industry self-regulatory system featuring self-regulation, self-management, and self-improvement. “In sectors where there are prominent structural contradictions in production capacity, enterprises should be urged to engage in fair competition; they must adjust their production pace in a scientific manner while meeting downstream demand, and such ‘cut-throat’ competition at prices below cost should be eliminated. Actively coordinate local governments and petrochemical enterprises to encourage those under construction or planned for construction that lack competitive advantages to delay commissioning or suspend construction. ”Qu Hui said. “The global chemical industry has remained at the bottom of its economic cycle for a long time, and the supply side is about to enter a phase of survival of the fittest. ”Li Suoshan said that production capacity characterized by outdated technologies and high energy consumption levels will be phased out at a faster pace in the future ； Some enterprises with cost and efficiency advantages will rapidly replace those exiting the market by continuously expanding their production chains on a larger scale, thus accelerating their capture of existing and new markets. Based on this, he suggested actively exploring new markets and demands, focusing on high-value-added products and differentiated strategies, as well as strengthening collaboration and open cooperation within the industrial chain.