Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website Date: 2025-09-26
1. What's the background for introducing the 'Work Plan'?
The petrochemical industry is an important basic and pillar industry of the national economy, with a large economic scale and high industrial connectivity, playing a key role in industrial stability and smooth economic operation. After years of development, China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of petrochemical products. In 2024, the added value of the petrochemical industry accounted for 14.9% of the industrial sector, with a growth rate of 6.6%, 0.8 percentage points higher than the industrial average. China leads the world in production capacity for over 20 basic chemical products, including refining, ethylene, and synthetic resins, effectively acting as a stabilizing force for the industrial economy.However, there are also challenges: competition in the basic organic raw materials market is increasing, high-end fine chemical supply is insufficient, domestic demand growth is slowing, and external uncertainties are rising. The 'Work Plan' is introduced to coordinate efforts for stable growth and transformation, aiming to combine cultivating new growth drivers with updating old ones, improving supply quality with expanding domestic and foreign demand, and balancing market guidance with government direction. The goal is to achieve both qualitative improvements and reasonable quantitative growth in the petrochemical industry, laying a solid foundation for high-quality development.
2. What are the overall considerations of the Work Plan?
Guided by Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, we adhere to the general principle of pursuing steady progress, properly balance the role of an effective market and an active government, and pay attention to coordinated, dynamic, and balanced efforts on both supply and demand sides. First, we insist on systematic planning and strengthen policy coordination. We thoroughly implement major decisions of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, coordinate current policies such as the "14th Five-Year Plan" guidance for promoting high-quality development of the petrochemical industry and the implementation plan for innovation in the fine chemical industry, and, in combination with the "15th Five-Year Plan" for the petrochemical and chemical industry, enhance two-year systematic planning for stable growth. Second, we follow a problem-oriented approach to promote high-quality, stable growth under the new situation. In response to new issues and challenges such as low investment efficiency and sluggish demand growth, we focus on improving investment effectiveness, accelerating high-end, green, digital, and safe upgrades, and avoiding low-level duplication; we simultaneously expand domestic demand and explore international markets, deepen upstream and downstream supply-demand coordination, develop demand in emerging industries, and promote integrated domestic and foreign trade development. Third, we improve the policy system to stimulate market vitality. We intensify the upgrading and renovation of outdated equipment in the petrochemical and chemical industry, optimize management of chemical pilot projects, improve capacity warning mechanisms, implement supportive yet controlled credit policies, and create a favorable development environment.
3. What are the main goals of the 'Work Plan'?
The 'Work Plan' states that between 2025 and 2026, the petrochemical industry should see an annual added value growth of over 5%, with economic benefits stabilizing and recovering. The industry's technological innovation capabilities will be significantly strengthened, while fine-tuning, digital empowerment, and safety standards will keep improving. Efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions will show clear synergies, and chemical parks will move from standardized construction to high-quality development.
4. What key tasks does the 'Work Plan' deploy?
Focusing on the new situations and challenges faced by the petrochemical industry, the 'Work Plan' covers 10 key tasks across 5 areas: boosting innovation, improving efficiency, expanding demand, optimizing platforms, and promoting cooperation.
First, strengthen industrial technological innovation and enhance effective supply capacity. Support key product research in areas like electronic chemicals and high-end polyolefins, and plan the construction of manufacturing innovation centers in high-end fine chemicals, pilot platforms for new materials, and data resource nodes. Promote quality upgrading of bulk products like coatings and pesticides that have comparative advantages, shifting from selling products to offering integrated solutions. Optimize the minimum production plan management for key fertilizer producers and improve the integrated control system for fertilizer production, transportation, storage, sales, and trade. Streamline approval processes for pilot projects, including project approvals, filings, and environmental reviews, to promote the industrialization of innovative results.
Second, we need to expand effective investment and promote transformation and upgrading. We must strictly control new refining capacity, scientifically regulate the pace of new capacity release for ethylene and para-xylene, and prevent overcapacity risks in the coal-to-methanol industry. We should implement the “Action Plan to Accelerate the Renovation of Old Devices in the Petrochemical Industry” and improve the standards system that supports scientific assessment and benchmarking for upgrading old equipment. Conduct digital transformation maturity assessments and technological upgrades in the industry, and carry out the “AI + Petrochemical” initiative. Support companies in boosting energy-saving, water-saving, and pollution-reduction and carbon-cutting efforts. Speed up the development and revision of standards related to high-end, green, and digital technologies.
Third, we should expand market demand and unleash market potential. Organize supply-demand matching events for petrochemical products, explore consumption potential in traditional areas like construction, automotive, and shipping, and develop application scenarios in emerging fields like new energy, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots. Collect and promote typical cases of non-food bio-based materials, advance the use of green ammonia and green alcohol in marine fuels, and accelerate the improvement of green product certification. Focus on promoting integrated domestic and international trade development, and help foreign trade products expand in the domestic market.
Fourth, strengthen and expand development carriers, and cultivate high-quality growth engines. Organize evaluations of chemical parks' competitiveness and intelligence levels, guiding them to upgrade and improve by benchmarking. Encourage chemical parks to focus on their key industries, strengthen and extend industrial chains, and enhance collaboration with national economic and high-tech zones, driving regional economic growth. Foster and expand clusters of advanced manufacturing, specialty SMEs, and leading enterprises.
Fifth, deepen open cooperation and boost international development. Implement stable foreign trade policies. Carefully advance joint ventures and cooperation in overseas resources like oil, gas, and potash, while actively exploring emerging markets. Improve services for foreign-funded projects and strengthen exchange and cooperation in fields like fine chemicals, green and low-carbon tech, and AI. Actively participate in international treaty negotiations and improve standards and product certification systems to align with global norms.
5. What Measures Are in Place to Ensure the Implementation of the "Work Plan"
To make sure the main goals and actions of the "Work Plan" are successfully carried out, there are three main measures. First, strengthen organizational support. Local areas should create and improve supporting measures based on their actual situations. Key companies should play a leading and exemplary role in the industry and supply chains, promoting coordinated development across upstream and downstream sectors. Industry associations should act as bridges, strengthening industry self-discipline. Second, boost policy support. Use existing policy channels, like ultra-long-term special government bonds, to support industry tech innovation and equipment upgrades. Encourage financial institutions to follow both supportive and controlled credit policies, nurture high-level technical, skilled, and management talent, and speed up project approvals and registrations according to laws and regulations. Third, improve monitoring and scheduling. Strengthen tracking and analysis of key industry information and global policies, industries, and technologies. Monitor key industries, release petrochemical industry prosperity indexes, and improve early warning systems for key product capacity. Timely release warnings to provide decision-making references for financial departments, industry companies, and local governments.
