China’s Growing Plastics Dominance Is Squeezing Out Asian Rivals
- There’s been a huge expansion in Chinese capacity since 2020
- Petchems a ‘sunset industry’ outside of the country: Heungkuk
Lianyungang Petrochemical Industry Base in Jiangsu Province.
Photographer: Costfoto/NurPhoto.Getty Images
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China’s rapidly expanding petrochemicals industry is making life increasingly difficult for producers in Asia’s next-biggest exporter of the building blocks for making plastics.
Asia’s largest economy used to be the major market for South Korean companies like LG Chem Ltd. and Lotte Chemical Corp. But the exporters of the chemicals used to make everything from nylon to disposable bottles and car interiors are now being forced to downsize their operations after a frenzy of petchem-plant building in China over the last few years created a supply glut.