Due to their excellent performance and alignment with energy-saving and environmental protection trends, engineering plastics have been widely used in sectors such as electronics and electrical appliances, automotive, construction, office equipment, machinery, and aerospace in recent years. Replacing steel and wood with plastics has become a prevailing international trend. Engineering plastics have become the fastest-growing field in the global plastics industry. Their development not only supports pillar industries and modern high-tech sectors but also promotes the transformation of traditional industries and adjustments in product structures.
Over the past decade, China's engineering plastics industry has achieved remarkable results, with an average annual growth rate of over 20% in output value. Enterprise scales have continued to expand, and technological levels have significantly improved. Some domestic product technologies and quality indicators have approached advanced international levels, with the processing techniques of certain specialty engineering plastics entering the global forefront. In 2008, China's engineering plastics consumption was approximately 2.06 million tons, which grew to about 2.44 million tons by 2010.
According to reports on the research and analysis of China's engineering plastics market and development trend forecasts for 2016-2020, China's engineering plastics industry has achieved leapfrog progress alongside the rapid growth of the national economy. A complete industrial chain covering resin synthesis, plastic modification and alloying, additive production, plastic machinery and mold manufacturing, and processing applications has gradually formed. By 2011, the annual demand in the Chinese engineering plastics market exceeded 2 million tons, with a turnover of 100 billion RMB, and was expected to double within five years. It can be said that China's engineering plastics industry has entered a period of rapid development.
During the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, China will further develop and strengthen the engineering plastics industry, focusing on building bases in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Henan, and Zhejiang. Supported by the recovery in demand for automotive, medical devices, and electronic/electrical products, global demand for engineering plastics reached 20 million tons by 2015, indicating huge industry potential. In the updated "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment" of 2011, the production of engineering plastics such as polycarbonate (PC), liquid crystal polymers (LCP), high-grade nylon, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and polyimide (PI)—as well as their applications in building materials, mechanical processing, rail transit equipment, and automotive lightweighting—were listed as encouraged categories for investment. Multiple national policies will actively support the leapfrog development of the engineering plastics industry during this period.
In the next decade, as China gradually transitions from a major manufacturing country to a manufacturing powerhouse, the use of engineering plastics will continue to heat up. Under pressure from costs, the market's demand for material localization is also increasing. This will bring unlimited business opportunities and broad application prospects for domestic suppliers, driving the rapid development of the industry. Simultaneously, massive market demand is pushing for continuous industry progress. Whether in material equipment, processing and molding, or application market development, China's engineering plastics industry is set to enter a stage of high-speed development.