China's PC capacity expansion to pause for the first time in eight years

For the first time in eight years, China's PC industry will see no new units commissioned throughout the year. Supply tightness, combined with diversified demand recovery across multiple downstream sectors, will drive both PC prices and profit higher.

Following the rapid capacity expansion from 2018 to 2022, China's polycarbonate (PC) capacity had reached 3.99 million t/y by 2025, accounting for nearly half of global capacity, while import dependence fell from 61% in 2021 to 23% in 2025. In 2026, new capacity additions will essentially stall, with no