How far behind developed countries is China in terms of polyolefin materials?

In recent years, China's polyolefin production capacity has continued to expand, becoming an important force in global polyolefin production. Many large petrochemical companies have made strategic layouts, continuously increasing the scale of production. For example, Sinopec and CNPC have built large polyolefin production bases in multiple locations across the country, forming a complete industrial chain system from crude oil extraction, refining, to the production of polyolefins. This complete industrial chain gives China's polyolefin industry a stability advantage in raw material supply. Taking ethylene as an example, domestic petrochemical enterprises can stably produce ethylene through their own refining facilities, providing sufficient raw materials for polyolefin production, reducing concerns about unstable external raw material supplies. At the same time, the improvement of the industrial chain has also reduced production costs. The integrated operation from upstream to downstream reduces transaction costs at intermediate stages, enhancing the economic benefits of enterprises and strengthening the price competitiveness of Chinese polyolefin products in the international market.

China, as one of the world's largest consumer markets, has an extremely high demand for polyolefin products. From everyday plastic items such as plastic packaging and plastic pipes, to industrial products like automotive parts and appliance casings, polyolefin materials have a wide range of applications. With the acceleration of urbanization in the country, infrastructure construction continues to advance, leading to a continuous increase in the demand for plastic pipes and construction-related plastic products. Moreover, with the improvement in living standards, the demand for high-quality plastic products is also on the rise, providing a broad market space for the polyolefin industry. The vast domestic market allows Chinese polyolefin companies to be closer to the market, quickly respond to market demands, and timely adjust production strategies. Compared to foreign enterprises, they have a significant advantage in product market adaptability and the speed of updating and replacing products.

In the research and development of polyolefin technology, China has made significant progress in recent years. Domestic research institutions and enterprises have closely cooperated, increasing R&D investment, and have achieved a series of breakthroughs in key areas such as catalyst technology and polymerization processes. For example, in the development of metallocene catalysts, domestic enterprises have already achieved certain results, and the production scale of metallocene polyolefins is gradually expanding. Metallocene polyolefins possess excellent properties, such as higher strength and better flexibility, which can meet the demands of high-end markets. At the same time, in terms of polymerization processes, Chinese companies continuously optimize production processes, improve production efficiency, and reduce energy consumption. Some enterprises, through their independently developed advanced polymerization processes, are able to produce polyolefin products with special properties, enhancing the added value of the products. Gradually, they are making a name for themselves in the international market, and the improvement in technological innovation capabilities provides strong support for the upgrading and development of China's polyolefin industry.

Despite China's massive polyolefin production capacity, there is still a significant reliance on imports for high-end polyolefin products. For example, some polyolefin products with specific performance requirements, such ashigh-carbon alpha-olefin copolymer polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH)and, domestic production capacity is insufficient.

High-carbon alpha-olefin copolymer polyethylene has excellent impact resistance and processing properties, and is widely used in high-end injection molded products, high-performance films, and other fields, while there are currently few domestic enterprises that can stably produce such products, with most relying on imports.

EVOH has excellent barrier properties and is widely used in fields such as food packaging and automotive fuel tanks. Domestic production cannot meet market demand, requiring a large amount of imports. The production technology for these high-end polyolefin products is monopolized by a few companies in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea. Chinese enterprises have a certain gap with them in terms of technology research and development and production processes, leading to a disadvantage in the high-end market competition.

in polyolefin productionkey technologies and equipmentaspect, China still faces "strangling" issues. In terms ofloop reactor in gas phase polymerization processFor example, its design and manufacturing technology has long been mastered by foreign companies. The loop reactor is a core equipment in the gas-phase polymerization process, which has a key impact on the quality and performance of polyolefin products. Foreign companies, with their advanced design and manufacturing technology, produce loop reactors that have higher production efficiency and better product quality stability. In contrast, the domestic level of technology in the design and manufacture of loop reactors is relatively low. The manufacturing precision and performance of some critical components cannot reach the advanced levels of foreign countries, leading to domestic companies not only having to pay high costs when introducing related technologies and equipment but also facing many restrictions.

In addition, in terms of catalyst production technology, although China has made some progress, there are stillhigh-performance catalyst, such as the catalysts used for producing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, still rely on imports, which constrains the pace of China's polyolefin industry moving towards high-end development.

The standard system of polyolefin products in China has a certain gap with international advanced standards. In the international market, the polyolefin product standards set by countries such as Europe and America are more stringent and comprehensive in terms of product quality, performance indicators, and environmental requirements. For example, in terms of environmental standards for plastic products, the relevant standards of the European Union have extremely strict limits on harmful substances in products and also have clear regulations on the recyclability and degradability of products. In contrast, the current polyolefin product standards in China have relatively lower requirements in these aspects, leading to Chinese polyolefin products facing challenges when exported.likely to face trade barriers due to non-compliance with standards。

At the same time, the updating speed of domestic standards is relatively slow, making it difficult to quickly adapt to market demands for new products and technologies. This puts Chinese polyolefin enterprises at a disadvantage in terms of product standards when participating in international competition, affecting the promotion and application of products in the international market.