China outlines regional plan for rubber-related industries

Beijing – China launched its latest Guidelines on Industry Development and Transfer on 29 Dec 2018, mapping out preferential industries for different regional areas to develop.

The guidelines by the ministry of industry and information technology – six years since its last version in 2012 – aims to promote the orderly transfer and upgrade of regional industrial clusters.

The strategic document is also intended to deliver a new inter-regional balance, according the ministry’s announcement on the day of the launch.

For rubber materials, the industries assigned to different areas include:

-   Synthetic rubber: a) Yinchuan, Shizuishan and Wuzhong in Ningxia province, b) Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Hebi, Jiaozuo and Puyang in Henan province;

-   Speciality rubber: a) Suizhou in Hubei, b) Yueyang in Hunan, c) Chengdu, Zigong and Nanchong in Sichuan, d) Shenyang, Daliao, Fushun and Panjin in Liaoning;

-   High performance rubber: Haikou, Chengmai, Danzhou and Dongfang in Hainan;

-   EPR, IR and butyl rubber: Jilin in Jilin;

-   EPR, butyl rubber, SSBR and rare earth BR: Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in Fujian;

-   Engineering rubber: Hengshui, Cangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Xingtai in Hebei.

The guidelines also cover a number of downstream sectors, such as:

-   Natural rubber and rubber products 'deep' processing: Pu’er and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan;

-   Rubber products: a) Xianyang in Shaanxi, b) Shiyan and Xianning in Hubei, c) Zhengzhou in Henan;

-   Green rubber products: Guiyang and Tongren in Guizhou;

-   Rubber panel, tube and belt: Yibin, Ziyang, Dazhou, Nanchong and Zigong in Sichuan;

-   Green rubber tube and speciality rubber products for automotives: Xuancheng, Huaibei and Anqing in Anhui;

-   Conveyor belts and other processed rubber products; rubber products for electronic components: Kaifeng, Hebi, Jiaozuo and Puyang in Henan;

-   Rubber products for personal or medical supplies: Changsha, Hengyang and Yueyang in Hunan;

-   Green tire: a) Changsha, Hengyang and Yueyang in Hunan, b) Chengdu and Meishan in Sichuan, c) Shizuishan, Yinchuan and Wuzhong in Ningxia;

-   High performance radial tire and related materials: a) Xiamen, Putian and Sanming in Fujian, b) Guangzhou, Shantou, Huizhou, Maoming and Jieyang in Guangdong;

-   Tire cord: Zhengzhou, Xinxiang and Jiyuan in Henan;

-   Rubber machinery: Kunming, Qujing and Wenshan in Yunnan;

-   Rubber additives: Kaifeng, Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang and Jiaozuo in Henan; and

-   Scrap tire recycling: a) Tangshan, Dingzhou and Hengshui in Hebei, b) Dalian and Dandong in Liaoning, c) Hangzhou, Ningbo and Taizhou in Zhejiang.

The guidelines call on key players to ‘seize the opportunities amid the new round of technology revolution and industrial transformation.”

China’s rubber industry should also “take on the higher end of the global value chain,” according to the announcement

The document further notes that the guidelines are not mandatory and do not set any timelines.