Regarding the structural contradiction in the new chemical materials industry—“overcapacity at the low end and shortages at the high end”—solutions can be pursued from multiple angles.
At the corporate level, it is essential to increase R&D investment, enhance independent innovation capabilities, and move into the high-end product sector. Enterprises should establish dedicated R&D centers, attract top-tier R&D talent, and focus on tackling key technologies related to high-end chemical new materials—such as advanced polyolefins, engineering plastics, and high-performance fibers—that are currently in short supply domestically. This will help boost product added value and reduce over-reliance on mid- and low-end products.
The government needs to play a guiding and regulatory role. On the one hand, it should use industrial policies to direct resources toward the high-end chemical new materials industry—for instance, by offering preferential policies such as land and tax incentives for investments in high-end chemical new materials projects. On the other hand, it should strengthen industry oversight, strictly control the addition of new capacity for mid- and low-end chemical products, accelerate the phasing out of outdated production capacities, and optimize the industrial structure.
Strengthen cooperation among industry, academia, and research institutions to promote the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. Universities and research institutes focus on cutting-edge research in high-end chemical new materials, while enterprises take charge of industrializing these research findings. For example, by establishing joint laboratories and industry-technology innovation alliances, we can accelerate the transition of high-end chemical new materials from R&D to production, thereby boosting the domestic self-sufficiency rate of high-end products. At the same time, we encourage enterprises to engage in international cooperation, introducing advanced foreign technologies and management practices to enhance their competitiveness in the high-end product sector.

In terms of current application status, China has leveraged the Materials Genome Initiative, as well as technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, to progressively enhance the digitalization and intelligentization levels across various stages of the new materials industry—including research and development, production applications, and recycling. For example, some enterprises are using computational simulation technologies in R&D to shorten the R&D cycle, while in the production phase, they are employing automated equipment and intelligent control systems to improve production efficiency and product quality.
However, development challenges are also quite evident. From the perspective of top-level design, compared with countries such as the United States, Japan, and the European Union, China has yet to introduce a dedicated national-level plan to promote the digital and intelligent transformation of the new materials industry. Relevant supporting policies are scattered across various frameworks—including those related to the digital economy and the new materials industry—lacking a systematic and coordinated approach.
In terms of R&D models, China’s level of digital and intelligent R&D is generally lagging behind. Data infrastructure is incomplete, material databases are small in scale and severely fragmented and isolated, and the foundational software for computational design remains weak. At the same time, the application of disruptive technologies is insufficient; the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence into the materials R&D process is not deep enough, and the development of autonomous experimental robots is slow, all of which hinder efficient R&D and product iteration.
In terms of full-chain management, although some Chinese enterprises have already established preliminary digital and intelligent control architectures covering the entire process, most enterprises still develop digital and intelligent capabilities independently across different stages, resulting in fragmented data. It is difficult for enterprises to share and circulate data among themselves, and a mature, integrated digital and intelligent control system and data-sharing network for the entire industry chain have yet to be established.

The new materials industry boasts a promising market outlook. According to scale data, from January to November 2024, China’s total output value of the new materials industry grew by more than 10% year-on-year, and is expected to exceed 8 trillion yuan for the full year—marking double-digit growth for 14 consecutive years. It is projected that by 2025, China’s new materials industry output value could reach 9.34 trillion yuan.
The driving force behind growth stems primarily from robust demand in downstream industries. Industries such as next-generation information technology, new energy, and high-end equipment manufacturing are experiencing rapid development, generating substantial demand for new materials. For example, the rise of the new-energy vehicle industry has boosted demand for battery materials and lightweight materials; meanwhile, the advancement of 5G communication technology has placed higher requirements on high-frequency, high-speed copper-clad laminate materials.
Policy support is also a key driving force. The state regards the new materials industry as a strategic and foundational sector and provides targeted support through a series of encouraging policies—ranging from R&D subsidies and tax incentives to the development of industrial parks—thus guiding resources toward the new materials industry and accelerating its rapid growth. Moreover, continuous technological innovation is constantly giving rise to new application scenarios for materials, expanding market opportunities, and serving as another important driver of industry growth.

The alignment between R&D outcomes and market demand is prone to problems. In some cases, when new materials are being developed, insufficient research is conducted on actual market needs at the project initiation stage. As a result, although these newly developed materials boast advanced technology, they lack market competitiveness in real-world applications and thus face difficulties in achieving commercialization.
The pilot-scale testing phase also presents a significant challenge. Pilot-scale testing is a critical stage in which laboratory findings are scaled up to verify the technical feasibility and stability of a process. However, pilot-scale testing requires substantial financial investment—covering equipment procurement, facility construction, and other related expenses—and involves inherent technical risks. Should the pilot-scale test fail, all the earlier investments would be wasted, deterring many companies from proceeding with this crucial step. Moreover, the establishment and operation of pilot-scale testing facilities face numerous difficulties, such as funding shortages, inefficient operational models, and high rates of equipment idle time, all of which undermine the efficiency and effectiveness of the pilot-scale testing process.
The product launch phase also faces significant challenges. As new materials are introduced as novel products, customers often have doubts about their performance and stability, leading to lengthy approval and review cycles. Particularly when updates to new-material components result in substantial changes to downstream products and involve multiple departments, customers—out of concern for potential risks—tend to further extend the review period. This, in turn, leads to insufficient coordination between upstream and downstream links in the innovation chain, slowing down the pace of industrialization and market implementation.

First and foremost, it is crucial to step up R&D investment. Enterprises themselves need to increase the proportion of funds allocated to R&D, while the government should also play a guiding role by establishing special R&D funds and providing long-term, stable financial support for promising new-materials R&D projects. For instance, in areas where basic research is relatively weak but holds great potential for practical applications—such as the development of novel energy-storage materials—joint investments by the government and enterprises can ensure the sustained progress of R&D efforts.
Strengthening industry-academia-research cooperation is also a key pathway. Universities and research institutions possess cutting-edge theoretical research findings, while enterprises have the capability to put these findings into industrial practice. Close collaboration between the two sides can accelerate the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. For example, when universities develop new theories on high-performance fiber materials, enterprises can leverage their engineering expertise to transform these theories into products that can be mass-produced, thus bridging the gap from the laboratory to the market.
Moreover, enterprises are encouraged to build their own independent R&D platforms and attract top-tier talent from the industry. Companies can establish their own research institutes, create a world-class R&D environment, and draw in outstanding materials scientists and engineers from both home and abroad to tackle critical technological challenges that have been labeled “bottleneck” issues. At the same time, enterprises should actively participate in international technological exchanges and cooperation, drawing on and learning from advanced foreign technologies and concepts in an open environment, thereby enhancing their own innovation capabilities.

From a technical perspective, the issue of being “choked” by others in critical core technologies is particularly prominent. In many new materials fields—such as core technologies, key components, and crucial basic materials—China still relies heavily on imports. For instance, in materials like photoresists essential for advanced chip manufacturing, China’s domestic R&D capabilities are insufficient, which severely restricts the industry’s ability to achieve independent and controllable development and keeps overall procurement costs stubbornly high.
In terms of industrial chain ecology, China’s domestic industrial chain is still imperfect. There are obvious barriers to the seamless integration of technological innovation and market application, and a fully closed, domestically-produced industrial chain has yet to be established. Take the new materials industry as an example—given its extremely high requirements for raw material quality—instabilities in raw material supply, such as fluctuations in the availability of certain rare metals, directly impact production processes and product quality. Moreover, from a supply-chain management perspective, procurement information lacks transparency, data sharing among various links is limited, and traditional communication methods lead to information delays, making it difficult to grasp supply-chain dynamics in real time. This not only increases management costs but also easily triggers supply-chain disruptions and other related issues.
In addition, the industry is also grappling with structural contradictions. For instance, in the field of new chemical materials, many companies are concentrated on producing mid- and low-end products, leading to overcapacity in these segments. Meanwhile, high-end products—due to their high technological barriers and limited R&D capabilities of domestic enterprises—have long relied on imports, making it difficult for them to meet the demands of China’s high-end manufacturing sector and strategic emerging industries.