“Guidelines for the Development of Chemical New Material Industries during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period Released

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On June 12, the “Guidelines for the Development of Chemical New Material Industries during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”) were released at a seminar on the development strategy for chemical new materials during the 15th Five-Year Plan period held in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi. 　　Data from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation show that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s chemical new materials industry experienced explosive growth, with both its scale and self-sufficiency reaching historic levels. The industry’s total production capacity was 84.5 million tons, while total output amounted to 53.5 million tons; the industry’s value reached 1.2 trillion yuan, and the overall self-sufficiency rate was 86.3%. China has firmly established itself as the world’s largest producer and consumer of new chemical materials, developing a comprehensive industrial landscape encompassing ten major sectors, including high-end polyolefins, engineering plastics, high-performance fibers, and electronic chemicals. 　　The Guidelines state that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the main business revenue and fixed-asset investment in the chemical new materials industry are expected to continue growing at a relatively rapid pace. By 2030, the industry aims to achieve coordinated development of basic and high-end products, adopt green and low-carbon production methods, and significantly improve the quality of its economic operations. Focusing on ten major series of new chemical materials, with emphasis on seven key tasks, the goal is to ensure an adequate supply of basic products by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, achieve basic self-sufficiency in high-end products, expand the export volume of competitive products, significantly enhance innovation capabilities, improve the availability of raw materials and production equipment, foster collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions, and end-users, and basically reach a level of parity with the United States, Europe, and Japan, or even take the lead in certain fields. 　　Bu Xinping, secretary-general of the Special Committee on New Chemical Materials of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, said when interpreting the Guidelines: “2030 is a crucial milestone for China to fully build itself into a modern socialist power, and it is also the year that will determine whether the new chemical materials industry can achieve leapfrog development.” We must not only exceed the threshold of 2.5 trillion to 3 trillion yuan in terms of industrial scale, but also establish a new framework in terms of innovation hubs, green and low-carbon development, talent aggregation, and global expansion. ”　　The Guidelines set specific targets for aspects such as the total economic volume of the new chemical materials industry, self-sufficiency rates, intensive development, and investment in research and development. 　　The overall economic volume is growing steadily; by 2030, the revenue from core business operations is expected to reach around 2.5 trillion yuan under a scenario where Brent crude oil prices are at $60 per barrel, and around 3.0 trillion yuan under a scenario where the price is $80 per barrel. 　　The self-sufficiency rate will increase further; by 2030, the total production capacity for ten key categories such as high-performance resins and electronic chemicals will reach 110 million tons, with an overall self-sufficiency rate of 94% for new chemical materials. 　　Intensive development in the industry is yielding results; by 2030, the level of park-based and intensive development will further improve, resulting in the creation of around 30 chemical and new materials parks with an annual output value of over 10 billion yuan each ； Foster a number of industry benchmarks; cultivate chemical new materials enterprise groups with a leading role; and nurture around 100 “specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative” small and medium-sized enterprises ； Innovation capacity has been significantly enhanced, with R&D investment accounting for 3% or more of the annual revenue from core business activities; a number of **-level research and development platforms for new chemical materials have been established ； The development towards high-end products is yielding results. By 2030, efforts will be made to overcome supply bottlenecks for around 20 key upstream raw materials, industrialize approximately 50 new chemical materials for high-end applications that currently have no domestic equivalents, and improve the quality of roughly 50 high-end chemical new materials ； Moving further toward green and low-carbon goals, by 2030 the comprehensive energy consumption per unit of output in this industry is expected to drop by more than 15% compared to 2025, while bio-based materials will help reduce carbon emissions by over 30% in specific application areas.