Authoritative release: Analysis of the Economic Operation of China's Plastic Processing Industry in the First Half of 2025

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to June, the national production of specialized equipment for plastic processing was 153,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%. There are 751 companies in the summary of specialized equipment manufacturing enterprises for plastic processing, with a total operating income of 48.55 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.8%. The total accumulated profit was 4.25 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 6.7%.

Positive factors are increasing, and multiple sub-industries are showing growth trends.

In the first half of 2025, despite the pressure on the plastic industry due to the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand in the national economy, many segments within the industry showed a positive growth trend, thanks to the support of national policies and the gradual recovery of market demand. The year-on-year production of several sectors, including plastic films (including agricultural films), plastic artificial leather synthetic leather, plastic thread/rope and woven products manufacturing, and foam plastic products, remained stable with an increase.

In response to the complex international situation, the industry's exports demonstrate resilience.

In the first half of 2025, faced with the challenges posed by U.S. tariff policies and the increasingly stringent EU policies towards China, China's plastic processing industry chain has collaborated to enhance its risk hedging capabilities. While striving to maintain the European and American markets, efforts have been intensified to expand into emerging markets. Although the growth rate of exports has slowed, the year-on-year increase has still been maintained. In the first half of the year, the total export value of China's plastics and their products was higher than the same period last year, highlighting the industry's resilience.

3. The market competition is intense, and the industry is experiencing growth without an increase in profits.

Due to the continued weakness in domestic market demand, the cumulative finished goods (inventory) in the plastic products industry increased by 2.7% year-on-year from January to June. The rising inventory pressure has affected the end prices of finished products, leading to a 1.3% decline in cumulative profits for the industry during the same period. The number of loss-making enterprises increased by 4.9% year-on-year, further intensifying the operational pressure on businesses.

In 2025, China's plastic processing industry will fully implement the decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, focusing on the main line of high-quality development. The industry will continue to deepen transformation and upgrading, steadily promote the construction of a modern industrial system, deepen reform and innovation, and continuously create new prospects for high-quality development.

At the macro level, on July 30, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee set the tone for economic work in the second half of the year, emphasizing the deep advancement of building a national unified market, promoting the continuous optimization of market competition order, governing disorderly competition among enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations, and advancing capacity governance in key industries, thus setting a clear direction for the development of the plastic processing industry. With the gradual balance of supply and demand in the industry in the first half of the year, and the continued release of the effectiveness of growth stabilization policies in the second half, the confidence in industry development will be further enhanced, and market vitality will be further strengthened.

At the micro level, the traditional peak consumption season will successively commence in the second half of the year. Under the guidance of a series of consumption-promoting policies, the demand in the application market will also continue and concentrate its release. Currently, the growth of emerging industries such as new energy, low-altitude economy, robotics, and bio-manufacturing has created new demand for high-end materials, with various polymer composite materials receiving strong support from national policies. The ongoing technological revolution and industrial transformation will open new avenues for the industry's transformation and upgrading, thus promoting the further development of the plastic processing industry, a key link in the industrial chain. Moreover, as the country continues to expand high-level opening-up and intensifies policy efforts to stabilize foreign trade, supporting enterprises in securing orders and exploring markets, new momentum in the industry’s foreign trade is expected to be further stimulated, and the industry's development prospects are optimistic.

Looking ahead to the whole year, although China's plastic processing industry faces multiple challenges such as insufficient effective domestic demand and a complex international trade environment, the industry is expected to maintain a steady and positive economic trend thanks to its complete industrial chain, strong technological innovation capability, and the advantage of a super-large-scale market.

In the next phase of work, the China Plastics Association will continue to play a bridging role, implement the spirit of national high-quality development, and guide the industry to advance the "five transformations" of functionalization, lightweighting, precision, ecological, and intelligent development. By adhering to technological innovation, practicing the concept of green development, promoting industry transformation, strengthening standardization work, and deepening international exchange and cooperation.Preparation for the 2026 China International Plastics ExhibitionIn all aspects, we will make every effort to carry out relevant work, continuously promote the economic recovery and improvement of China's plastic processing industry, and achieve the goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan" with high quality. This will lay a solid foundation for a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan" and make new contributions to the industry.