【2026 Industry Insights】An Overview of American Chemical Companies in China – ExxonMobil
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American chemical companies are mostly operated as wholly-owned or controlling entities, and they are concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone, Jiangsu), the Pearl River Delta (Huizhou), and the Bohai Rim region (Tianjin). They cover the entire value chain, from basic raw materials to high-end specialty materials, and constitute important players in China’s chemical industry. For these reasons, let’s take a look at the major American chemical companies in China. ExxonMobil is one of the largest oil and natural gas companies in the world. Its chemical business encompasses basic chemicals, plastics, synthetic rubber, etc., making it a key integrated oil refining and chemical enterprise.
ExxonMobil’s facilities in China mainly include the following: ● Daya Bay Facility in Huizhou: Located in the Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, it is the first major petrochemical project built by ExxonMobil in China as a wholly-owned investment; it began operations on July 15, 2025. The main production capacity is 1.6 million tons per year of ethylene, 1.2 million tons per year of LLDPE, 500,000 tons per year of LDPE, and 950,000 tons per year of polypropylene. It is the first major petrochemical project invested in China by a U.S. company on a wholly-owned basis, with a total investment of $10 billion. The facility focuses on the production of high-value chemical products, including metallocene polyethylene and high-impact polypropylene, serving industries such as packaging, automotive, and home appliances in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as the domestic market.
●Fujian Quanzhou Joint Venture Base: Operated in partnership with companies such as Fujian Refining & Chemical, located in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. It mainly produces products such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and also manufactures chemical raw materials like aromatics and styrene, serving the chemical industry chain in the southeastern coastal region of China.
●Shanghai R&D Center: Located in Xuhui District, Shanghai, it is ExxonMobil’s key R&D base in the Asia-Pacific region. Equipped with advanced laboratories and processing equipment, it focuses on areas such as the application development of chemical products, formula customization, and polymer modification, providing technical support and innovative solutions to customers in China and the Asia-Pacific region.
●Tianjin Lubricant Production Base: Located in Tianjin, it is dedicated to the production and research and development of lubricant products. Through upgrade and renovation projects, the local supply capacity for high-end lubrication products has been enhanced, enabling services to customers in China’s mining, industrial and other sectors with reliable and high-performance lubrication solutions.