[SMM Hydrogen Policy Update] Seven departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, issued a notice on the "Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Petrochemical and Chemical Industry (2025-2026)".

On September 2, 2025, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Financial Regulatory Commission, and the General Cooperative Society jointly issued the "Stability and Growth Work Plan for the Petrochemical and Chemical Industry (2025-2026)", which pointed out the direction for the stable operation and structural optimization and upgrading of the petrochemical and chemical industry, and will have a profound impact on the application of green energy and industrial scientific and technological innovation.

The Plan proposed that from 2025 to 2026, the added value of the petrochemical and chemical industry would grow by more than 5% annually, with economic benefits stabilizing and rebounding, and the capability of industrial scientific and technological innovation significantly enhanced. This goal provided clear guidance and strong momentum for the development of the petrochemical and chemical industry.

I. Green Energy Application Gains New Opportunities

The Plan proposed to actively expand applications around emerging industries such as new energy, promote the use of green ammonia and green alcohols in the marine fuel market, and accelerate the improvement of green product certification. This directly opened up new market space for the application of green energy sources like green ammonia and green alcohols, meaning that over the next two years, more green ammonia and green alcohol products would be applied in the marine fuel sector, providing new market demand for the green energy industry chain from production, transportation to end-use.

This policy orientation aimed to promote the green transformation of the energy structure, help achieve emission reduction goals in the transportation sector through expanding the application of green energy in maritime areas, and at the same time, promote the continuous optimization and cost reduction of green ammonia and green alcohol production technologies, driving the sustainable development of the green energy industry.

II. Industrial Scientific and Technological Innovation Capability Will Significantly Improve

The Plan emphasized strengthening industrial scientific and technological innovation, supporting key product breakthroughs in electronic chemicals and high-end polyolefins, and promoting quality upgrades in bulk products with comparative advantages such as coatings.

Driven by innovation, the technical breakthroughs in key areas such as electronic chemicals and high-end polyolefins would accelerate, expected to overcome a batch of core technologies, improving the product quality and market competitiveness of China in these fields. Meanwhile, the quality upgrade of bulk products like coatings would promote the traditional industry to develop towards higher-end and more refined directions, enhancing the overall added value of the industry.

III. Chemical Parks Will Move Towards High-Quality Development

The Plan proposed organizing and conducting graded evaluations of the competitiveness and intelligence level of chemical parks, guiding chemical parks to benchmark and upgrade, and promoting chemical parks to focus on strengthening, supplementing, and extending the industry chain of leading industries.

This would prompt chemical parks to accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading, shifting from simple enterprise agglomeration areas to modern industrial clusters characterized by innovative collaboration and closely linked industry chains. By enhancing the competitiveness and intelligence level of the park, it will attract more high-quality enterprises to settle in, strengthen cooperation and synergistic development among enterprises within the park, and improve the industrial agglomeration effect and overall competitiveness.

IV. Further Deepening of Open Cooperation

The plan proposes to deepen open cooperation, implement policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade, steadily advance joint venture cooperation in the development and utilization of overseas oil, gas, potash, and other resources, actively explore emerging markets, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in fields such as fine chemicals, green and low-carbon technologies, and artificial intelligence, and improve standards systems and product certification systems aligned with international practices.

In terms of international collaboration, this will facilitate the better integration of China's petrochemical and chemical industry into the global market, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with internationally advanced enterprises and technologies, introduce advanced technologies and management experience, and enhance the internationalization level and international competitiveness of China's petrochemical and chemical industry. At the same time, by improving international standards and certification systems, it will promote Chinese petrochemical and chemical products to better access the international market and drive high-quality development of the industry.

The release of the "Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Petrochemical and Chemical Industry (2025–2026)" reflects the high importance the state places on the development of the petrochemical and chemical industry. Relevant departments and local authorities are expected to formulate specific implementation rules and supporting policies accordingly, jointly promoting the high-quality development of the petrochemical and chemical industry while stabilizing growth, and providing strong support for the stable and healthy development of the national economy.