During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the overall development of China's rubber industry remained stable, with significant achievements in industrial scale, technological innovation, structural transformation, and internationalization.
One is the expansion of industrial scale. Compared with 2019, in 2024, the profit of China's rubber industry increased by 62.8%, the number of rubber product enterprises above designated size increased by 26.3%, the industry's operating income increased by 18%, the export delivery value increased by 40.2%, and the number of radial tires increased by 36.7%. Secondly, technological innovation has made progress. The energy-saving and carbon reducing effects of bio based rubber are significant, and steam vulcanizing machines have been transformed into electric vulcanizing machines. The third is to accelerate the promotion of industrial upgrading. The transformation of mid to low end products to high-end products, and the development of the rubber industry towards green and intelligent direction. Fourthly, the pace of internationalization is accelerating. Rubber industry enterprises are "going global" to build factories, actively adapting to the global market, and the export volume is constantly increasing.
After experiencing a stage of rapid economic growth, the biggest challenge facing China's rubber industry is the rapid expansion of production capacity, prominent structural contradictions in mid to low end products, intensified industry competition, severe "internal competition", and fluctuating industry profits. As the leading product in the rubber industry, tires account for over 50% of the export volume. The recent impact of international anti-dumping and anti subsidy policies has put great pressure and challenges on China's rubber industry, especially the tire industry. The industrial chains of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, additives, carbon black, steel cord, etc. have also been impacted. In addition, in the high-end rubber fields such as military and medical, China's dependence on natural rubber imports is high, and there are technical bottlenecks in the production of special synthetic rubber.
Based on the current situation of the industry, during the 15th Five Year Plan period, China's rubber industry needs to further clarify its development direction and path, and develop towards green, low-carbon, intelligent, high-end, and international directions. Specifically, the following four points need to be done well.
One is to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the industry. The proposal of the "dual carbon" target, coupled with the implementation of international policies such as the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, has raised higher requirements for rubber related products, including natural rubber. This requires rubber companies to attach great importance to the practice of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) concepts, promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the entire industry chain, actively adapt to domestic and foreign policy requirements, and promote the industry to achieve sustainable and high-quality development.
The second is to accelerate the intelligent upgrading of the entire industry chain. On the one hand, we will promote the transformation of production towards automation and intelligence, introduce technologies such as intelligent equipment and digital twins, and achieve precise control and efficient collaboration throughout the entire process of rubber product production; On the other hand, focusing on product intelligence innovation, in line with the trend of electrification, networking, and unmanned development in the automotive industry, we will focus on breaking through high-end products such as smart tires, developing intelligent rubber products with road hardness perception and data transmission functions, and strengthening the collaborative adaptation with terminal equipment control systems. At the same time, enterprises are encouraged to apply AI technology in core areas such as formula research and development, structural design, etc., and use data modeling and intelligent analysis technology to improve research and development efficiency, in order to build technological barriers and competitive advantages in the rubber industry through the intelligent transformation of the entire chain.
Thirdly, we will make every effort to promote the high-end development of industries. Focus on increasing the proportion of high-end products made from basic raw materials such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, and promote the upgrading of the entire industry chain to high value-added links. Strengthen the collaboration between the upstream and downstream of the rubber industry, promote the deep integration of various links in the industrial chain and the cross-border integration of industry, academia, research and application, and promote close cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutions in key technological breakthroughs. The industry association will establish an innovation collaboration platform to promote the integration of innovation resources and the transformation of achievements. Through the deep coupling of the industrial chain and innovation chain, it will comprehensively enhance the core competitiveness and global discourse power of China's rubber industry, and promote the industry to move towards a higher stage of high-quality development.
The fourth is to firmly promote international layout and brand building. Faced with a complex international environment, the rubber industry needs to proactively break through barriers, promote the transformation of enterprises towards internationalization, build a global development pattern, and enhance their ability to resist external risks. At the same time, we should take enhancing product value as the core, focus on improving product quality, rely on continuous research and development innovation to solidify product competitiveness, and strive to cultivate independent brands. To break the traditional production and operation model, deeply integrate the service concept into the entire product lifecycle, and create a Chinese brand that combines international recognition and core identity, achieving a leap from "product export" to "brand recognition".
Mr.Kevin