I. Industry Development History

Before the 1990s, China's chemical fiber industry was in a stage of imitating and following developed countries such as those in Europe, the United States, and Japan. The gap was obvious, which could be vividly described as "drawing a gourd according to the pattern" or "looking at the moon through a crack". Entering the 21st century, thanks to the strengthening of national strength, the government has provided strong support in production factors such as finance, taxation, and land. Meanwhile, enterprises themselves have also increased their investment in scientific and technological research and development. Gradually, in aspects like equipment, technology, products, and terminal applications, China has been approaching developed countries in the chemical fiber industry and has entered a period of being "largely the same with minor differences" or "looking at the moon in the courtyard". China's chemical fiber products and textile machinery have already entered the global market, and the industry is striving to move from "Made in China" to "Created in China".

II. Capacity and Production Status

Since 2002, due to the low cost of raw materials and considerable profits, large-scale production and product variety expansion can reduce costs and build brands. China's Recycled polyester industry has embarked on a high-speed development mode, with capacity expansion and technological progress advancing simultaneously. In 2002, the capacity of Recycled polyester was only 1.2 million tons per year. By the end of 2012, the capacity of Recycled chemical fibers had exceeded 8 million tons per year, and the average annual growth rate of capacity and production remained above 12%. According to the plan, by 2030, the capacity of China's Recycled polyester industry will reach 20 million tons, the output will be 17.5 million tons, and the output value will be 300 billion yuan. Among them, the capacity of Recycled staple fibers will be 12.5 - 13 million tons, the output will be 11 million tons, and the capacity of Recycled filament yarns will reach 7 - 7.5 million tons, with an output of 6.6 million tons.

III. Analysis of Import and Export Situations

(I) Recycled Raw Materials

China has become the world's largest country in processing and producing products with bottle flakes and dominates the flow of global recycled polyester waste. Domestic raw material sources are abundant, with annual imports of about 1.7 million tons, 1 million tons of waste textiles, and 300,000 tons of waste silk, stiff materials, and lumps, totaling 6.15 million tons per year.

(II) Recycled Staple Fibers

In 2006, the exports of Recycled staple fibers exceeded imports for the first time, but the subsequent export volumes fluctuated. For example, due to the financial crisis in 2009, imports increased while exports decreased, and exports showed a downward trend again in 2012. Currently, chemical fibers in Southeast Asia (such as in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India) are gradually increasing their competitive strength relying on cost advantages. Europe and the United States are attaching renewed importance to traditional manufacturing industries. Turkey is leveraging its unique geographical advantages, and South America (such as Brazil and Mexico) is relying on its regional advantages to compete with China's chemical fiber industry for market share. Therefore, in foreign trade, it is necessary to pay close attention to sudden changes in the quantity of specific products during specific time periods and strictly prevent trade frictions.

IV. Challenges Faced

(I) Capacity and Raw Material Supply

As the application fields of textile products have shifted from mainly clothing and home textiles to industrial textiles, the consumption of textile raw materials has increased sharply. The United Nations predicts that the total global textile fiber processing volume will reach 253 million tons by 2050, among which industrial textiles will account for as high as 67.4%. Affected by population growth, the output of natural fibers is unlikely to increase and may even decline steadily. The stable growth of chemical fibers has become an inevitable trend. However, the synthetic fiber industry mainly relies on petrochemicals as raw materials (accounting for 96%), and fossil resources are expected to be depleted by 2050, so it is urgent to explore new resource paths. Global waste textile waste will reach 40 million tons per year. Countries around the world are attaching increasing importance to recycled resources, and high-quality raw materials are becoming more expensive and scarce. China's imported raw materials are facing pressure in both quality and quantity. China generates about 26 million tons of waste textiles annually, among which chemical fibers account for about 20.8 million tons and natural fibers account for about 5.2 million tons. A large number of waste textiles are buried or burned as garbage, resulting in resource waste and environmental pollution. Although China is a major producer and consumer of uniforms, the recycling of military training and retired uniforms faces inventory pressure. Before the technologies for sorting materials and colors of other types of uniforms (such as those of the government, large state-owned enterprises, and schools) are solved, it is difficult to make effective use of them. However, in the long run, uniforms are a potentially huge source of raw materials.

(II) Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Textiles

The current situation of comprehensive utilization of waste textiles in China is worrying. There are common problems such as small scale, scattered distribution, and low concentration. Industrial clusters have not been formed, and there is a lack of backbone enterprises' participation. The industrial chain and value chain are incomplete. There is a lack of a social environment led by the government and widely accepted by the public. The direction of industry development is unclear, and the task of eliminating backward production capacity is arduous. Although China's manufacturing industry has a complete supporting industrial chain, value chain, and industrial system, which are advantages that Southeast Asian countries can hardly match in the short term, great efforts are still needed to improve the comprehensive utilization of waste textiles. For example, after the 2008 financial crisis, a clothing manufacturing enterprise in Suzhou established a directly-operated factory in Vietnam. However, due to insufficient supply of accessories and mechanical parts in the local market, coupled with problems in customs clearance and export, its operation was difficult.

V. Industry Outlook

(I) Comprehensive Utilization of Resources

The Recycled polyester fiber industry is a circular economy industry strongly supported by the state and is of great significance in alleviating white pollution. Through the recycling of polyester waste materials, a large amount of used polyester (PET) materials can be reused every year. For example, the domestic annual recycling volume reaches 3.15 million tons. Taking waste mineral water bottles or cola bottles (PET bottles) as an example, after entering the Recycled polyester fiber production enterprises, the bottle bodies, bottle caps, and plastic trademark papers can all be fully decomposed and utilized. More than 90% - 95% of the wastewater generated during the cleaning of bottles and bottle flakes in the production process can be recycled through sewage treatment, realizing the reduction of waste pollution to the environment from the source and achieving the resource utilization and harmless treatment of waste.

(II) Social Benefits

1. Employment Promotion:

The Recycled polyester fiber industry covers recycling and cleaning, Recycled chemical fiber processing, and related industries, providing a large number of job opportunities for society. The recycling and cleaning industry alone can solve the employment of about 450,000 people, and the Recycled chemical fiber processing enterprises can solve the employment of about 300,000 people. Meanwhile, it also drives the employment of about 800,000 people in related industries, solving the employment problems of more than one million people in total.

2. Economic Contribution: 

This industry directly contributes a large amount of taxes to the country every year and actively participates in export earnings, strongly supporting the country's economic construction.

3. Resource Conservation: 

Compared with using petroleum resources to manufacture PET slices, producing Recycled polyester staple fibers from PET waste bottle flakes can save 6 tons of standard coal in processing energy consumption per ton of raw materials, greatly conserving petroleum resources and improving resource utilization efficiency.

4. Environment and Industry Promotion: 

It effectively reduces white pollution, beautifies the environment, and increases the effective supply of social products. Meanwhile, the development of the industry drives the coordinated development of related industries such as recycling, international trade, logistics, textile machinery, and accessories, promoting the良性互动 and common prosperity among industries.

(III) Industrial Planning and Goals

1. Construction of Demonstration Parks and Bases: 

Layout and construct several demonstration parks or bases for the comprehensive utilization of waste plastics and textiles in key regions across the country, such as the Bohai Rim Circular Pilot in Shandong, the Second-hand Clothing Comprehensive Utilization Pilot Park in Jiangyin, Jiangsu, the High-value Recycled Utilization Demonstration Park in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, the Bulk Harmless Recycled Utilization Industrialization Park in Cangnan, Zhejiang, the Comprehensive R & D Industrial Base for Waste Plastics and Waste Textiles in Eastern Guangdong, and the Recycled Comprehensive Pilot in Jinjiang, Fujian. Strive to form a complete industrial chain for the comprehensive utilization of waste textiles covering recycling, transportation, sorting, utilization, and sales, and promote the formation of multiple industrial clusters in the national regeneration industry.

2. Enterprise Cultivation: 

Focus on cultivating leading enterprises with complete sets of processing equipment and industrial production capabilities, prompting them to form a complete industrial chain covering sorting, cleaning (disinfection), processing, resource utilization, and harmless treatment. Encourage enterprises engaged in the comprehensive utilization of waste plastics and waste textiles to develop in the directions of specialization, large-scale, intensification, high quality, high efficiency, harmlessness, and airtightness, and promote their successful experiences across the country to play a leading and exemplary role.

3. Specific Goal Setting

   - Product Structure Goals: 

By 2015, the product structure of China's Recycled polyester industry will continue to be optimized, application fields will continue to expand, the proportion of the output value of high-tech and functional Recycled fibers will be significantly increased, and the connotation of differentiated Recycled fibers will be further enriched, gradually becoming the leading force in China's chemical fiber industry and guiding the trend of industry product upgrading.

   - Scientific and Technological Innovation Goals: 

By 2015, the number of enterprise technology centers at or above the provincial level in China's Recycled polyester industry will reach 10, and the number of enterprise technology centers at or above the municipal level will reach more than 30. The proportion of enterprise R & D investment in sales revenue will increase to above 1%, and the new product output value rate will reach above 25%, significantly enhancing the independent innovation ability of backbone enterprises and providing solid support for the technological progress of the industry.

   - Brand Creation Goals: 

By 2015, the number of newly added well-known trademarks in China, famous trademarks at the provincial level, and well-known trademarks at the municipal level in China's Recycled polyester industry will reach about 5, 20, and 50 respectively. The output value rate of brands at or above the municipal level will reach above 60%, the influence of regional brands will be further expanded, and the number of regional brands will reach more than 10, enhancing the overall brand image and market competitiveness of the industry.

   - Industrial Efficiency Goals: 

By 2015, the economic benefits of China's Recycled polyester industry will be significantly improved. Through energy-saving technological transformation, the comprehensive energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of output value will be reduced by 10%, the emissions of three wastes will be significantly reduced, the reuse rate of reclaimed water will reach above 90%, and the labor productivity will be steadily improved, rising from 1 million yuan per person in 2010 to 1.1 million yuan per person in 2015 and planned to reach 1.8 million yuan per person in 2030, achieving an all-round improvement in industrial efficiency.

(IV) Vision Outlook

By 2030, China's Recycled polyester industry will successfully transform and upgrade into a modern industrial cluster with differentiated products as the leading factor, a complete industrial chain, advanced enterprise equipment, a rational industrial layout, and strong independent innovation capabilities. By then, the industrial innovation system will be complete and efficient, the industrial characteristics will be distinct and prominent, the comparative advantages will be significantly enhanced, and it will become a benchmark demonstration industry for the transformation and upgrading of China's traditional industries and the development of the domestic circular economy. It will occupy a pivotal position in the global Recycled chemical fiber field, lead the industry in green and sustainable development trends, and contribute China's wisdom and strength to the global resource recycling and environmental protection undertakings.