In 2023, the total output of enterprises in China's plastic products industry will be 74.885 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.0%. Among them, the total output of plastic pipes is 16.19 million tons, ranking first in the world. As the world's largest producer and consumer of plastic pipes, China's plastic pipe industry affects the whole country and connects the world.
At the 7th China (2024 Shijiazhuang) International Plastic Pipe Exchange Conference (hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange Conference") held recently, Zoran Davidovsky, vice chairman of the International Plastic Pipe Conference Association, said that in recent years, many changes have taken place in the global plastic pipe field. This exchange conference showcased the innovative achievements of the international plastic pipe industry and shared China's latest development experience.
Wang Zhanjie, president of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, believes that China's international plastic pipe exchange activities have been held in China many times, which has played an important role in enhancing the international influence of my country's plastic pipe industry.
Plastic pipe equipment has excellent comprehensive performance and is widely used in gas, water transportation and other fields. "Plastic pipes are mainly used for fluid pressure transportation, requiring high circumferential strength, good stress cracking resistance and long service life. However, due to factors such as extrusion stretching, the circumferential strength and cracking performance of traditional plastic processing need to be improved." Wang Qi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Sichuan University, shared the topic of "Preparation of High-Performance Plastic Pipes by Rotary Extrusion" at the exchange meeting. He said that the new theory, new equipment and new process of preparing high-performance plastic pipes by rotary extrusion provide support for the preparation of high-performance and multifunctional plastic pipes, which is an important breakthrough in plastic pipe processing technology.
Ludo De Bever, general manager of the European Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association, has been engaged in the plastic pipe industry for more than 35 years. He said at the exchange meeting that the topic of microplastics in drinking water and food has received increasing attention. The detection of microplastics is very difficult, but it is crucial for the plastic pipe equipment industry to understand and track the development of technology. The European Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association has launched a number of studies to determine whether plastic pipes are the source of microplastics and quantify them when possible. The current research results show that the content of microplastics in the samples has not been found to exceed the detection limit.
"In the past five years, China's annual output of plastic pipe products has exceeded 16 million tons, and the total output is relatively stable. At present, it accounts for about 1/5 of the total output of the domestic plastic products industry." Zhao Yan, Secretary General of the Plastic Pipe Professional Committee of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, said that the pace of scientific and technological innovation in my country's plastic pipe industry has been accelerating, the application field has been further broadened, and the standard work has been continuously improved. In particular, the "four transformations" (functionalization, high-endization, systematization, and intelligence) have led the development of the industry, with remarkable results. In the future, the plastic pipe industry must accurately understand the rich connotation of the new quality productivity, grasp the path of high-quality development of the industry, strengthen application-oriented scientific and technological innovation and collaborative innovation of the industrial chain, continuously improve quality, and create new advantages for the development of the industry.
Since the beginning of this year, driven by the recovery of international market demand, my country's plastic product exports have basically remained in the growth channel, and the export volume in the second quarter has grown steadily month by month. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in July, my country's plastic product exports were US$8.47 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%; imports were US$1.55 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.0%. In the first seven months, my country's exports of plastic products totaled US$61.53 billion, up 7.2% year-on-year; imports totaled US$10.28 billion, up 4.3% year-on-year. The trade surplus was US$51.25 billion.
"Since the beginning of this year, my country's exports of plastic products have achieved steady growth, higher than the same period last year, and the situation continues to improve."
