Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other ministries jointly issued the Implementation Plan for the Innovative Development of the Fine Chemical Industry (hereinafter referred to as the Implementation Plan). The Implementation Plan focuses on improving key products, refining key technologies, strengthening key enterprises, and optimizing key parks. It outlines actions in six areas: enhancing supply capacity, upgrading safety and environmental protection technologies, perfecting the innovation system, nurturing strong enterprises, cultivating professional talents, optimizing industrial layout, and improving the business environment. This Plan sets the direction for the high-quality development of China's fine chemical industry and is crucial for promoting new industrialization and speeding up the development of a manufacturing powerhouse.

The petrochemical industry is a pillar industry in Fujian Province, playing a crucial role in driving high-quality development and advancement. Fine chemicals, with their high added value and rapid demand growth, serve as a vital catalyst for the transformation and enhancement of the petrochemical industry. They are also an indispensable material guarantee for ensuring the high-quality development of manufacturing. In recent years, Fujian has expedited the development of specialized chemical industrial parks, with a focus on new chemical materials and fine chemicals, based on the resource endowments and industrial characteristics of different regions. This effort has led to the emergence of industry leaders like SKSHU Paint, Kuncai Material Technology, and Deer Technology, establishing a strong industrial base and making notable advancements in the fine chemical industry.

——The industrial layout boasts clear divisions of labor. The petrochemical industry in Fujian Province is mainly located in the coastal Meizhou Bay Petrochemical Base, Zhangzhou Gulei Petrochemical Base, Fuzhou Jiangyin Chemical New Materials Zone, and Lianjiang Kemen Chemical New Materials Industrial Park. The main emphasis is on the consolidation of refining and chemical processes, along with downstream projects in the petrochemical industry chain, where major enterprises play a crucial role in maintaining stability. In 2023, the petrochemical industry revenue in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Fuzhou, and Putian, four prefecture-level cities where the aforementioned parks are located, accounted for 76.6% of the total operating revenue of the province's petrochemical industry above a designated size. Sanming, Nanping, and Longyan, three mountainous prefecture-level cities, leverage their local resource advantages to prioritize the development of specialty chemical industries, including fluorochemicals, silicon chemicals, and forest chemicals. The annual operating revenue of the petrochemical industry in these cities makes up 15.5% of the total operating revenue of the province's petrochemical industry above a designated size. The fine chemical industry in Ningde City primarily manufactures cathode materials and electrolytes to support the production of lithium batteries.

——The industrial structure undergoes continuous optimization. Fujian Province has been firmly implementing the development route of "less oil, more chemicals", extending its general industrial chain towards new chemical materials and high-end fine chemicals. The scale and added value of fine chemical products have seen significant growth, leading to a higher proportion of fine chemicals within the industry. The industrial chains for ethylene, propylene, C4, and aromatics have been steadily growing and expanding, now encompassing production capabilities from refining to aromatics and olefins, and extending to engineering plastics, biodegradable plastics, polyester, and more. The gaps in the industrial chain have been gradually filled, resulting in the formation of several comprehensive industrial chains. Four of these chains stand out as particularly prominent: 

1. The crude oil-olefins, aromatics-polyolefins, polyester-plastic products, polyester fiber industrial chain;

2. The benzene-cyclohexanone-caprolactam-polyamide 6-acrylic fiber industrial chain;

3. The chlorine-phosgene-TDI/MDI-polyurethane-downstream products industrial chain;

4. The fluorite-hydrofluoric acid-fluoropolymer, fluorine-containing fine chemicals industrial chain.

——The product advantages are increasingly prominent. The fine chemical industry supplies essential raw materials like photoresists, specialty gases, engineering plastics, nylon, and polyester to sectors such as semiconductor processing, advanced equipment manufacturing, and textile and apparel processing. These materials provide strategic support for addressing industry bottlenecks. Industry leaders such as CATL, Ningde ATL, and CALB are playing a key role in enhancing the upstream and downstream industrial chains for anode and cathode materials, separators, electrolytes, binders, and conductive agents. They hold a significant position in the national lithium battery new energy materials market. Meanwhile, regional top companies like Sanming Hexafluo Chemicals, San Nong New Materials, and Dongying Chemicals are spearheading the development of specialized industrial chains, such as fluorite-inhalation anesthetics, immersion cooling liquids for data centers, fluorine-containing polymers, surfactants, environmentally friendly refrigerants, and high-purity electronic chemicals. The domestic market share for hexafluoroisopropyl methyl ether is 100%, hexafluoroisopropanol 90%, and fluororubber vulcanizing agents 88%.

Next, Fujian Province will earnestly implement the spirit of the National New Industrialization Promotion Conference, in conjunction with the implementation of the Implementation Plan, to focus on developing fine chemical sub-sectors such as high-end polyolefins, fluorine chemicals, electronic chemicals, and coatings. Fujian will also further optimize industrial layout, accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of industries, enhance the comprehensive utilization capacity and level of characteristic mineral resources, establish an advantageous product system, and boost the high-quality development of the fine chemical industry throughout the province.

1. Enhancing Industrial Layout Planning to Improve Supply Capacity

We will utilize the unique resource endowments and industrial strengths of regions to develop a specialized and advanced fine chemical industry layout with a rational division of labor and a focus on competitive advantages, ultimately driving the industrial chain toward a more sophisticated and advanced direction. Based on industrial clusters such as Fuzhou Jiangyin Chemical New Materials Zone, Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park, Lianjiang Kemen Economic Development Zone, Shaowu Jintang Industrial Park, and Shanghang Jiaoyang Industrial Park, we will accelerate the development of chemical new materials and fine chemicals in the middle and lower reaches of the petrochemical industry chain. Our focus will be on the development of high-end polyolefins, high-performance resins, fluorosilicone new materials, rubber and elastomers, high-performance coatings, electronic chemicals, and other products. We are committed to advancing the integration of the fine chemical industry with downstream sectors such as electronic information, textiles and footwear, and new energy batteries.

2. Advancing Green and Safe Transformation to Elevate Industry Development

We will fully implement green manufacturing projects, continuously optimize the industrial structure, accelerate low-carbon technology innovation, vigorously promote energy efficiency and carbon reduction, comprehensively improve resource utilization efficiency, actively promote green transformation, accelerate the adjustment of energy structure in petrochemical and chemical industries, fully implement green manufacturing, and promote digital technology to empower green and low-carbon development in petrochemical and chemical industries. We will also firmly establish the concept of safe development, promote the comprehensive technological transformation of old facilities, eliminate outdated processes, technologies, and equipment in accordance with laws and regulations, vigorously develop green petrochemical products, and establish and improve health, safety, and environmental management systems.

3. Integrating Industry, Academia, Research, and Application to Enhance Innovation System

We will prioritize key technologies that have market demand, a solid research and development foundation, and the potential for breakthroughs. Our goal is to strengthen technological support capabilities and establish a collaborative innovation system that involves enterprises, academia, and research institutions. We will support enterprises in conducting independent research and development, as well as in enhancing cooperation with top technology innovation enterprises, universities, and research institutes, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, we will explore the possibility of bringing in highly innovative enterprises from both home and abroad to elevate industry technology levels and research and development capabilities. We will also support the establishment of industry innovation platforms by parks or key enterprises, develop chemical pilot bases, create a conducive environment for breakthroughs in key technologies, and facilitate the transformation and upgrading of the industry. This will provide crucial support for the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements.

4. Conducting Tiered Enterprise Cultivation to Strengthen Industrial Entities

We will continue to prioritize the role of key enterprises, strategize projects, establish platforms, attract investments, and offer quality services tailored to the needs of these key enterprises. We aim to enhance collaborative innovation within the industrial chain, bringing together enterprises and driving development with the leadership of key enterprises. We will adhere to tiered cultivation, enhance and support leading enterprises in the chain, continuously intensify efforts to promote the “intelligent and digital transformation” of SMEs, vigorously cultivate “enterprises that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products”, create a batch of “Little Giant” and single champion enterprises within the industry, and promote the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises. We will encourage enterprises to grow and expand through various methods such as going public, mergers and acquisitions, and technological partnerships. We will also encourage enterprises to establish long-term strategic partnerships, stabilize key industrial chains and supply chains, and achieve cluster-based linkage and full industrial chain development between the fine chemical industry and pillar industries, as well as traditional advantageous industries.