“Amid sustained declines in global petrochemical product prices, China's petrochemical industry achieved a new breakthrough in 2025 with exports reaching $331.13 billion (approximately RMB 2.3 trillion), marking a 2.5% year-on-year increase.”

On February 6, the “2025 China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Economic Operation Press Conference” was held in Beijing. Fu Xiangsheng, Vice President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, made the above statement at the conference.

In 2025, the global petrochemical industry navigated a challenging year marked by slowing economic growth, market stagnation, steeply rising tariff barriers, and heightened uncertainties.

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC)'s “2025 Year-End Economic Outlook Report,” U.S. chemical production and industrial growth remained sluggish, with chemical output increasing by only 0.7% in 2025. The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) report indicated that European chemical production declined by a further 2% in 2025, following a 2.4% year-on-year decrease in 2024.

During the same period, China achieved growth in key petrochemical product output.

As disclosed at the press conference, China's crude oil production reached 216 million tons in 2025, marking a 1.5% year-on-year increase and achieving seven consecutive years of production growth. Natural gas output reached 261.89 billion cubic meters, up 6.2% year-on-year, with production growth exceeding 10 billion cubic meters for nine consecutive years.

Additionally, crude oil processing volumes also increased. In 2025, China processed a cumulative total of 738 million tons of crude oil, a 4.1% year-on-year increase. The nation's crude oil processing capacity has remained above 700 million tons for three consecutive years.

Fu Xiangsheng emphasized that precisely because China has made every effort to safeguard production and ensure supply, it has made significant contributions to maintaining the stability and resilience of the global petrochemical industry chain, especially as production declines in other major petrochemical regions.

“As reported by Euronews: Over the past few years, the world has experienced a series of major shocks. Many countries have been deeply concerned about the future of global trade and whether supply chains can withstand sudden disruptions. During this difficult period, China has played a crucial stabilizing role,” he said.

Meanwhile, the industrial added value of the domestic industry maintained rapid growth, exceeding the national industrial average.

Data disclosed at the press conference showed that in 2025, the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size in the entire industry grew by 6.9% year-on-year, exceeding the national industrial added value growth rate by 1 percentage point and maintaining relatively rapid growth.

Looking at the full-year trend, the growth rate of industrial added value across the entire industry showed a pattern of starting low and ending high. From January to March, the industry's added value grew by 6.5% year-on-year; from January to June, it was 6.6%; from January to September, it reached 7.2%; and from January to December, it stood at 6.9%, with the second half generally outperforming the first half.

Affected by the continued decline in oil and gas product prices, the petrochemical industry faced certain challenges in profitability.

Last year, the average annual price of Brent crude oil was $69.2 per barrel, down 14.4% year-on-year. The average annual ex-factory price of domestic oil and natural gas fell 9.9% year-on-year; coal ex-factory prices dropped 15.7% year-on-year; and chemical prices declined a further 4.9% in 2025, following a 4.1% year-on-year decrease the previous year.

Against this backdrop, the domestic petrochemical industry's operating revenue declined by 3% year-on-year in 2025. Specifically, chemical production grew by 0.5%, refining decreased by over 9%, and oil and gas production fell by 4.6%. During the same period, the industry's total profit decreased by 9.6% year-on-year, with an operating revenue profit margin of 4.5%.

Looking back at the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's petrochemical industry has reached new heights in both economic scale and production capacity.

Fu Xiangsheng cited a set of figures indicating that by 2025, the industry's total operating revenue increased by 41.4% compared to 2020, while profits rose by 36.2%. Overall, the industry's performance during the 14th Five-Year Plan period showed steady progress, with an average annual growth rate of 4% in main business revenue and 6.4% in total profits.

Looking ahead to 2026, Fu Xiangsheng stated that China's petrochemical industry faces greater opportunities than challenges and more favorable conditions than unfavorable factors. This outlook stems from the restructuring of global industrial layouts, capacity adjustments, and the emerging effects of domestic efforts to curb “internal competition.”

“The petrochemical market will emerge from its previous period of bottoming out and is expected to rebound, ushering in a new cycle of prosperity,” he said.

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