SunSirs: Top Ten News Stories in China's Rubber Industry for 2025

In 2025, China's rubber industry demonstrated remarkable resilience and strategic steadfastness amid multiple global shifts: restructuring trade patterns, deepening green transformation, and accelerating technological innovation.

The industry accelerated its global footprint optimization in response to the Belt and Road Initiative's mandate; clarified high-quality development pathways guided by policy frameworks; broke through critical supply chain bottlenecks by prioritizing technological innovation; and propelled industrial advancement toward green and intelligent manufacturing.

From navigating trade barriers to global capacity deployment, from refining standards systems to AI-driven empowerment, and from building consensus against internal competition to achieving localization breakthroughs, China's rubber industry is undergoing profound structural transformation. It is systematically establishing new competitive advantages, steadily advancing toward the goal of becoming a “rubber powerhouse.”

1. EU “Double Anti-Dumping” – Tightening Trade Environment, Industry-Wide Collaborative Response

On May 21, the EU announced an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese passenger car and light truck pneumatic rubber tires. On November 6, it added an anti-subsidy investigation, merging the two cases into a combined “anti-dumping and anti-subsidy” case involving approximately $3 billion in annual trade.

Amidst the backdrop of deglobalization, trade investigations are increasingly being initiated in a copycat fashion. Current trade frictions exhibit new characteristics: First, different countries and regions are competing to launch trade investigations; Second, successive investigations are being launched against different products within the same broad category; Third, investigations are also being initiated against related products along the industrial chain. Beyond the EU's “double anti” case, the industry faces additional cases in 2025, including Brazil's anti-dumping investigation on steel cord for tires from China and Colombia's anti-dumping investigation on all-steel tires from China. Notably, Brazil's steel cord anti-dumping case marks the first such investigation against China's steel cord products.

Facing this severe situation, the China Rubber Industry Association swiftly organized enterprises to coordinate their defense. Notably, the Brazil steel cord anti-dumping case achieved a positive outcome with a negative preliminary ruling and the termination of the investigation. As a major export market for Chinese tires, the EU's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty case against semi-steel tires serves as a stark reminder for the entire industry. It underscores the need to accelerate market diversification, strengthen corporate cooperation mechanisms for defense, and simultaneously focus on enhancing product value-added and brand building. This shift aims to gradually reduce reliance on price competition, enabling high-quality development to counter trade uncertainties.

2. “Reciprocal Tariffs” — US-China Trade Tensions Escalate Amid Repeated Tariff Policy Adjustments

In 2025, the United States initiated global trade disputes under the pretext of “reciprocal tariffs.” The tariff standoff between China and the US underwent multiple rounds of intense confrontation, significantly impacting the rubber industry's import and export trade. This “tariff war” formally commenced in February: The U.S. imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods citing the fentanyl issue, prompting China to immediately implement targeted countermeasures. Tensions escalated in March as the U.S. raised tariffs to 20% and expanded the scope to multiple industries including steel, aluminum, and automobiles. By April, tariffs on both sides had climbed to historic highs, with the U.S. imposing reciprocal tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods and China raising its tariffs to 125% in response. From May to November, following three rounds of high-level talks, China and the U.S. reached a phased consensus, leading to a significant reduction in tariff levels.

Under the tariff adjustment plan following the May 12 high-level talks, the composite tariff structure for Chinese tire exports to the U.S. remains complex. It includes: Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, and auto parts (applicable to passenger car tires and light truck tires), and anti-dumping and countervailing duties ranging from 30.61% to 176.83% (with significant variations in rates among different enterprises). Although substantial progress has been made in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations, creating favorable conditions for normal trade relations, tire-related tariffs have yet to be substantially unbound. The industry's exports to the U.S. market continue to face significant cost pressures.

3. The 15th Five-Year Plan: Top-Level Design Unveiled, Aiming for “Rubber Powerhouse” Status

As the concluding year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, 2025 marks a milestone for China's rubber industry, which has achieved remarkable progress over the past five years. Driven by ongoing supply-side structural reforms, the industry has further consolidated its advantages in the complete industrial chain, demonstrating a positive trend of “stable volume and improved quality” in economic performance. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, by 2024, China's rubber products sector had 4,482 enterprises above designated size, representing a 26.7% increase compared to 2020. with main business revenue reaching 815.9 billion yuan, up 26.7% from 2020; total profits hitting 56 billion yuan, a 14.5% increase over 2020; and export delivery value surging to 198.8 billion yuan, a remarkable 41.2% rise compared to 2020. Key products like tires and rubber goods have long maintained global leadership in production volume, solidifying China's position as a major rubber power.

In 2025, the China Rubber Industry Association, pooling the wisdom of the entire industry, formally released the “Guiding Outline for the 15th Five-Year Development Plan of the Rubber Industry,” charting a clear blueprint for the sector's future five-year development. Aligned with national strategies, the Outline prioritizes innovation-driven growth, green transformation, structural optimization, and global expansion as core objectives, aiming to propel the industry from “scale expansion” to a fundamental shift toward “quality leap.” Three key objectives are explicitly stated for the 15th Five-Year Plan period: First, achieve steady overall growth with profit growth exceeding revenue growth by 2 percentage points. Second, significantly enhance industrial concentration by cultivating 3–5 world-class enterprise groups with revenues exceeding 50 billion yuan, raising the CR10 market share to 40%. Third, continuously optimize the product structure to ensure high-end products account for over 40% of output, markedly strengthening the industry's influence in international markets. By 2030, the industry aims to establish itself as a global innovation hub for rubber, a benchmark for green manufacturing, and a supply base for high-end products, laying a solid foundation for the leap from a “rubber powerhouse” to a “rubber superpower.”

4. National Standard Revision—Upgrading Environmental Standards to Drive Precision Governance Transformation

Since its implementation in 2011, the mandatory national standard “Pollutant Emission Standard for Rubber Products Industry” (GB 27632—2011) has played a crucial role in regulating industry emissions and protecting the ecological environment. However, with the evolution of rubber production technologies, enhanced environmental governance capabilities, and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, the standard has revealed shortcomings such as incomplete applicability, unreasonable baseline emission volume settings, and missing characteristic pollutant indicators. These issues have created significant challenges for local enforcement, testing institutions, and corporate compliance, rendering the standard inadequate for supporting the industry's high-quality development. Revision has become imperative.

In 2025, the revision of the atmospheric emissions section of the Rubber Products Industry Pollutant Emission Standard (GB 27632-2011) officially commenced. As the technical support unit, the China Rubber Industry Association participated in the research and revision of the new national standard. The focus centered on industry production realities, current pollution control technologies, and regional variations to ensure the new standard is scientifically sound, applicable, and operationally feasible. This revision will propel the rubber industry's environmental governance from a “one-size-fits-all” approach toward precision. By refining emission indicators, optimizing monitoring methods, and clarifying differentiated requirements, it will provide clear guidance for corporate environmental upgrades while fostering a fair competitive market environment. This lays a robust regulatory foundation for green and sustainable development.

5. “Countering Involution” — Building Industry Consensus to Break the Low-Quality Competition Dilemma

China's economy has transitioned from high-speed growth to high-quality development, yet the traditional inertia of “scale expansion” persists. ‘Involutionary’ competition is fueling a vicious cycle of “low growth, high consumption, and low efficiency,” emerging as a primary obstacle to high-quality development. Domestic policies against involution have progressively intensified, becoming a core orientation of national economic governance.

In 2025, the China Rubber Industry Association repeatedly issued public warnings against zero-profit “involution” practices, urging enterprises to maintain steadfastness and uphold their responsibilities. “Opposing vicious price competition and advocating a healthy ecosystem” became the annual priority for all segments of the rubber industry in 2025. “Anti-involution” does not negate competition; rather, it systematically drives the economy's transition from low-level repetitive construction to high-quality development by regulating market order, eliminating outdated production capacity, and optimizing industrial structure. The rubber industry's clear stance against “internal competition” not only aligns with national policy directives but also signifies a shift in the mainstream industry's attitude toward disorderly competition—from “resigned acceptance” to “proactive resistance.” This shift helps redirect corporate competition from price-cutting toward technological innovation, brand building, and service enhancement. It improves overall industry profitability, accumulates funds for core technology R&D and high-end product development, and propels the industry out of the development dilemma where increased production fails to translate into increased income.

6. Domestic Production of MIAK—Breaking Through Technical Bottlenecks and Fortifying Industrial Chain Security

Rubber antioxidant 6PPD is a core additive in tire manufacturing. However, 6PPD particles generated from tire wear react with ozone to form 6PPD-quinone, a substance highly toxic to aquatic life. In 2023, California enacted stringent regulations requiring tire manufacturers to evaluate and replace 6PPD. This legislation triggered a chain reaction across the global tire industry, prompting Chinese enterprises to actively respond by accelerating the development of alternative materials.

On September 1, Shengao Chemical announced the successful industrialization of methyl isopentyl ketone (MIAK), a key raw material for its independently developed high-end rubber anti-aging agent. With an initial production capacity of 3,000 tons, this breakthrough ends China's long-standing reliance on imports for this product.

7. IPO Financing—Multiple Leading Enterprises Listed; “Shanghai Rubber” Futures Debut in Osaka

In 2025, China's rubber industry accelerated its asset securitization process significantly, with several leading enterprises intensively entering capital markets, injecting capital momentum into the industry's high-quality development. The capital market continues to open its doors to the rubber industry, delivering multiple benefits to leading enterprises: On one hand, IPO financing provides ample capital support for expanding production capacity, increasing R&D investment, and pursuing mergers and acquisitions. On the other hand, the regulatory requirements and information disclosure mechanisms of the capital market will compel enterprises to enhance governance transparency, standardize operational processes, and strengthen their long-term value creation capabilities. As more high-quality enterprises enter the capital markets, industry resources will accelerate their concentration toward top players, driving industrial structure optimization and upgrading. This will facilitate the sector's transition from “fragmented competition” to “cluster-based development.”

In the international market, the “Shanghai Natural Rubber Futures” contract listed on the Osaka Exchange on May 26 marks a new phase in the high-level opening of China's futures market. This authorization enables the direct quotation of “China prices” through institutional innovation, preserving the core pricing role of the renminbi while shielding overseas investors from direct exposure to renminbi exchange rate fluctuations. It facilitates the direct export of renminbi-quoted futures market prices to overseas markets, enhancing the international influence and acceptance of “renminbi rubber prices” and contributing to the internationalization of the renminbi to a certain extent.

8. Global Expansion—Accelerating Overseas Capacity Build-up to Establish Transnational Supply Chain Systems

By 2025, leading enterprises in China's rubber industry will deepen their globalization strategies, with overseas factory construction gaining momentum. This will form a full-chain layout characterized by tire manufacturers taking the lead and supporting enterprises collaborating.

The tire sector showcased notable achievements: Sailun Group led the industry in overseas expansion, with its Indonesian factory producing its first high-performance passenger radial tire in May and laying the foundation stone for its Sohna Industrial Zone factory in Egypt in September. FOMAX achieved full production line integration at its Cambodia facility in September, rolling out its inaugural tire. Wanli Tire produced its first high-performance passenger radial tire at its Cambodia base in October; Linglong Tire launched its Serbia factory expansion project in January while simultaneously advancing its Brazil factory establishment; Guizhou Tire rolled out its first semi-steel radial tire at its Phase III Vietnam project in July and is planning a second overseas base in Morocco; Langma Tire formally launched its Egypt factory project, while its Phase II Pakistan factory continues to release 1.3 million tires/year capacity; Pulun Chengshan held a groundbreaking ceremony for its factory in Kedah Rubber City, Malaysia in November, with Phase I planned to produce 6 million passenger tires and 600,000 commercial tires annually.

Supporting sectors advance in tandem: Soft Control United Technology laid the foundation for its Vietnam production base in January, while its precision mold factory in Vietnam commenced operations in October, becoming the country's first manufacturer of tire mold sets. Tongcheng New Materials began construction of its Thailand base in December, targeting an annual output exceeding 30,000 tons of rubber additives. Jinsanjiang's Malaysian base advanced land acquisition and project construction; Shandong Lichuang Mold laid the foundation for its Thailand smart manufacturing base in August; Shandong Cabot Chemical's Cambodia plant completed equipment commissioning and commenced partial production. The rubber industry is establishing a comprehensive transnational supply chain system through upstream-downstream coordination, optimizing its dual-circulation layout between domestic and international markets.

9. Green Barriers—EUDR Extension Again, Compliance Pressure Persists

On December 4, the European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to postpone the implementation date of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by another year to December 30, 2026. Micro and small enterprises receive an additional six-month grace period, while certain compliance procedures are simplified. Notably, the European Commission is mandated to submit an assessment report by April 30, 2026, evaluating the administrative burden of the regulation, the need for further “simplification,” and potential new legislative proposals. Industry insiders refer to this assessment as the “major review” in April 2026, during which the regulation may undergo further adjustments.

The EUDR extension grants Chinese enterprises reliant on natural rubber and related product exports to Europe valuable preparation time. Despite simplified compliance requirements, the trend toward stricter environmental and ethical scrutiny in global supply chains is irreversible. Compliance capability has become the “new entry ticket” for companies entering the European market. Industry players must fully leverage this window period to accelerate the establishment of a fully traceable supply chain system—spanning raw material procurement, production processing, and product export—ensuring products comply with the EUDR and relevant international environmental regulations. This will lay a solid compliance foundation for long-term development in the European market.

10. Artificial Intelligence—AI Accelerates Implementation, Empowering Intelligent Transformation in Rubber Industry

2025 marks the year of large-scale AI implementation globally. Amidst the surge in deploying new-generation AI large models, rubber enterprises are actively embracing AI, with related applications proliferating across the sector.

AI technology is emerging as a new engine driving cost reduction, efficiency gains, and innovation in products and business models within the rubber industry. Its application will profoundly transform traditional production and operational methods while elevating the industry's technological sophistication. Enterprises that pioneer and deeply integrate AI are poised to establish generational advantages in efficiency, cost management, and personalized services.

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