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This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Given various requirements, such as the restructuring of the global energy landscape, the advancement of China’s “dual carbon” goals, and the fostering of new productive forces, it is imperative for the petrochemical industry to transition from being large in scale to becoming truly strong. At the 2026 Petrochemical Industry Development Conference held recently in Nanning, Guangxi, Wang Jiming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out that it is necessary to keep focusing on innovation-driven development, green and low-carbon practices, as well as high-end intelligence. The industry should be upgraded through six key approaches, so that high-quality development can help transform the petrochemical industry from being large in scale to being strong in capability. China’s development achievements have attracted worldwide attention. At present, China’s petrochemical industry has achieved remarkable progress. In terms of industrial scale, by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s refining capacity will be 950 million tons per year, and its ethylene production capacity will be 64.27 million tons per year, keeping it at the top of the world in terms of industrial scale. At the same time, industrial concentration has been increasing steadily; the output value of chemical parks accounts for over 70%, giving rise to a number of world-class petrochemical industry clusters. In terms of oil and gas security, China’s crude oil production has seen seven consecutive increases, while its natural gas production has experienced nine consecutive increases. The diversification of overseas resource acquisitions and import channels has also enhanced China’s ability to cope with fluctuations in the international energy market. Meanwhile, the supply and demand dynamics in the refining industry have undergone significant adjustments, with the trend of reducing oil production and increasing chemical production continuing to gain momentum. Wang Jiming pointed out that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, consumption of gasoline and diesel will decline more rapidly, while the growth potential of the market for specialty products will increase. \"Reducing oil use and increasing chemical products\" as well as \"reducing oil use to produce specialty products\" will become the main directions for the transformation and development of the refining industry, with the industrial value chain gradually shifting toward higher-end segments. Notably, the market for new chemical materials is growing rapidly. Breakthroughs have been achieved in technologies such as high-end polyolefins, electronic chemicals, and high-performance fibers; products like 60k large-tow carbon fiber, T800-grade aerospace carbon fiber, POE, and ArF photoresists have broken foreign monopolies. It is estimated that by 2030, the total demand for new chemical materials in our country will reach around 70 million tons, with the self-sufficiency rate rising to 76%. Multiple challenges drive industry transformation. Wang Jiming pointed out that the 15th Five-Year Plan period is a crucial five years for China’s petrochemical industry to evolve from a large-scale sector to one of high quality, and it will have to face multiple challenges, including peak demand for refined oil products, overcapacity in major chemical products, increasingly stringent carbon targets, and the growing impact of digital technologies. From the perspective of oil refining, the rapid development of new energy vehicles is having a profound impact on the refined oil market. Wang Jiming noted that domestic oil refining capacity will continue to shrink, with capacity expansion occurring alongside closures and adjustments. A portion of inefficient and outdated production capacity will be phased out more rapidly, while capacity reductions and new additions will concentrate in large integrated refining and chemical enterprises. At the same time, the refining model is accelerating its shift from a \"fuel-oriented\" approach to a \"feedstock-oriented\" and \"material-oriented\" one, with refining concepts evolving toward precise \"component-based refining\" and \"molecular refining\". From a product perspective, the situation of strong supply and weak demand for chemical products remains unchanged. “High-end new materials will be the key to breaking the deadlock. ”Wang Jiming emphasized that there is insufficient endogenous momentum on the demand side, and growth relies on new economic cycles and new trade routes ； Traditional sectors on the supply side are weighed down by the real estate industry, while emerging fields such as new energy, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots are becoming strong drivers of growth for high-performance materials. In terms of green and low-carbon development, \"reducing carbon emissions from existing operations and achieving near-zero emissions from new ones\" will become an essential requirement for the green and low-carbon growth of petrochemical enterprises. Wang Jiming pointed out that companies must integrate carbon reduction into their investment decisions and core production processes. Technologies such as short processes, direct supply of green electricity, multi-energy integration, and re-electrification will be implemented more rapidly, and the importance of coordinated carbon reduction across the industrial chain is becoming increasingly evident. Furthermore, the development of a unified national carbon market is accelerating, and the petrochemical industry will be included in it. This means that carbon emission costs will gradually be integrated into investment and operation frameworks, thereby driving improvements in carbon asset management capabilities. In terms of digitalization, Wang Jiming emphasized that the digitalization of the petrochemical industry will move from \"individual pilot projects\" to \"comprehensive and deep integration across all areas.\" Centered on smart factories, large AI models, and digital twins, it drives the restructuring of the entire industrial chain, enabling a qualitative shift from \"experience-driven\" approaches to those driven by data, models, and intelligence. The development of smart factories will also be further advanced. Application scenarios such as intelligent sensing and data infrastructure, smart production control, intelligent inspection and maintenance, as well as smart safety and environmental protection will be fully implemented. In the future, the coverage rate of smart factories is expected to reach around 80%, giving rise to a number of leading-edge smart factories. Six pathways to drive industrial upgrading. In light of these trends, Wang Jiming proposed the overall approach for the development of the petrochemical industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period: focusing on quality improvement and high-quality development, while adhering to innovation-driven growth, green and low-carbon practices, structural optimization, and open cooperation, in order to make the transition from a \"major petrochemical country\" to a \"powerful petrochemical nation\". First, strictly control the scale and optimize the existing assets. It is necessary to implement total capacity controls in sectors such as oil refining, while promoting technological upgrades of existing facilities, energy conservation and carbon reduction, as well as digital transformation, in order to improve capacity utilization and profitability. Second, it is to promote the transformation from old to new drivers of growth and foster new forms of productive capacity. Transform and upgrade traditional industrial drivers, and drive the transformation of the refining and chemical industries toward higher sophistication, greater precision, and greener practices ； Foster and strengthen new drivers of growth by focusing on strategic emerging industries such as chemical new materials, high-end specialty chemicals, and new energy materials ； We are making forward-looking investments in future industries, seizing new opportunities in areas such as embodied intelligence and data centers, and using materials like carbon fiber and high-performance engineering plastics to establish a competitive advantage for the future. Third, we must strengthen technological innovation to achieve a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement. It is necessary to break through key core technologies in high-end polyolefins, electronic chemicals, bio-based materials, etc., and address the issue of reliance on imports for core catalysts and advanced manufacturing processes. In addition, it is necessary to improve the innovation system by establishing **-level platforms, pilot production bases, and innovation consortia to promote deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application. Fourth, deepen green, low-carbon and circular economy development. It is necessary to establish a comprehensive carbon-reduction framework, advance energy-saving upgrades, the replacement of conventional electricity with green energy, and the use of CCUS technologies, in order to build zero-carbon factories and parks and enhance the industry’s overall capacity to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, it is necessary to vigorously develop a circular economy, improve the coordination system between physical and chemical recycling, and promote the high-value utilization of waste plastics. Fifth, promote the coupled development of biochemistry and diverse resources. Implement the coupling of diverse resources to promote synergy among multiple pathways such as petrochemical, coal chemical, biochemical, and chlor-alkali industries, while fostering deep integration with related industries including metallurgy, building materials, and light industry. Create a park-based coupled ecosystem; rely on the construction of demonstration projects in industrial parks to promote cascaded energy utilization and the recycling and mutual supply of waste. At the same time, it is necessary to improve standards and policy support, increase financial and fiscal assistance as well as green finance incentives, in order to accelerate the development of a scaled-up, low-carbon integrated model. Sixth is to expand high-level opening up to the outside world. Optimize the structure of export products, promote high-quality products, technologies, and standards to go global, and achieve a shift from low-end exports to high-end output. Deepen international cooperation, deploy competitive production capacities along the Belt and Road Initiative, optimize overseas industrial chains, and achieve mutual benefit and common development with global leading enterprises.