Counting China's New Starting Vitality | 4,000 Tons per Year on a Single Line
How hardcore is this "carbon" breakthrough that is truly astonishing?

Ask AI · Why Is Jilin Chemical Fiber’s Vertical Integration Model Difficult to Replicate?

Editor’s Note: 2026 marks the beginning of the “14th Five-Year Plan.” The potential of the domestic demand market continues to be unleashed, new consumption scenarios keep emerging, and hotspots such as cultural tourism integration, ice and snow economy, and national trend consumption frequently appear, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of a large-scale market. To provide an in-depth interpretation of the new atmosphere at the start, China National Radio Network launches the series report “Data Reading China’s New Vitality at the Start,” supported by data, focusing on vivid practices in consumption scenarios, industrial upgrading, and people’s livelihood improvements across various regions, presenting a picture of China’s economy seeking progress amid stability and bursting with vitality.

China National Radio Network Changchun, April 2 (Reporter Shu Zhen, Guo Mingtong) — In Jilin, a “key leap” concerning the pattern of the new materials industry is underway.

Speaking of carbon fiber, many people’s first reaction is “high-tech” and “expensive.” But recently, an old state-owned enterprise from Jilin is rewriting the global carbon fiber industry landscape with a series of hardcore data.

On March 26, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group’s first dedicated large tow carbonization line for the shipbuilding sector successfully started up.

This “line” is not simple. It is not only Jilin Province’s first high-end carbon fiber production line used in shipbuilding, but also a single-line capacity reaching 4,000 tons per year, and a marker line for Jilin Chemical Fiber’s official entry into the marine carbon fiber market.

Sun Xiaojun, a relevant person in charge at Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, introduced that carbon fiber has three core advantages: first, it is extremely lightweight, with significant advantages in maritime applications; second, it has very high strength; third, it has outstanding corrosion resistance. In the marine environment, metal materials are difficult to resist chloride ion corrosion, but carbon fiber can effectively solve this problem.

It is worth noting that this is the third carbonization line put into operation by Jilin Chemical Fiber since March.

Why is everyone paying such close attention?

“Breakthrough” may be the key word behind the industry’s development.

Three lines in one month, targeting three major “blue oceans”

Let’s rewind to early March.

On March 6, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group’s 60k-ton carbon fiber project: a 4,000-ton high-efficiency large tow production line successfully started up. This line has the largest single-line capacity worldwide and the widest single width, capable of meeting the needs of the largest domestic offshore wind turbine blades with a diameter of 292 meters, as well as the high-performance requirements of the world’s largest wind turbine blades.

On March 12, a 1,000-ton wet-process 3K carbon fiber production line officially began trial operation, with an annual capacity of 1,500 tons per line. Its products can be widely used in aerospace, low-altitude economy, automotive, medical devices, and other fields.

On March 26, the dedicated line for marine use was put into production…

In just one month, three benchmark production lines were successively established, precisely targeting three core sectors—from offshore wind power to aerospace and shipbuilding—strongly laying out a new blue ocean in the industry.

Workers busy working on the factory line (Photo from China National Radio Network, Huatai Lai)

The frequent establishment of these projects is not a coincidence but stems from accumulated strength; venturing into emerging fields is not following trends but a strategic choice.

Why does Jilin Chemical Fiber rank first globally?

Looking at the global carbon fiber industry map, for a long time, a few giants like Hexcel in the U.S. have dominated the industry “pyramid tip.”

But now, the situation has changed.

By 2025, Jilin Chemical Fiber’s carbon fiber capacity will rise to 70k tons, with sales of 56k tons—both production and sales ranking first worldwide, achieving China’s leap from “hard chasing” to “historic leading” in this cutting-edge material field.

Why is Jilin Chemical Fiber successful? The answer lies in another number: 310k tons.

This is not just carbon fiber capacity but a complete industry chain from precursor filament—carbon filament—to composite materials. Jilin Chemical Fiber has 190k tons of precursor filament, 70k tons of carbon filament, and 50k tons of composite material capacity, forming an irreplaceable “vertical integration” advantage.

Workers busy on the production line (Photo from China National Radio Network, Huatai Lai)

Simply put, the biggest fear in making carbon fiber is upstream raw material supply restrictions, but Jilin Chemical Fiber can produce its own precursor filament, driving costs down to the extreme; the biggest concern is market sales, but they extend directly downstream, with 80 composite extrusion and lamination lines, ski board production lines, and unmanned mechanism parts production lines all laid out at once.

“Not only do we achieve technological breakthroughs ourselves, but we also drive the upgrading of downstream enterprises, forming industry chain synergy. This optimization of production relationships is the core of the rejuvenation of old state-owned enterprises,” said Sun Xiaojun, deputy general manager of Jilin Chemical Fiber Group.

How strong is Jilin Chemical Fiber? A set of data shows its hardcore strength

“We operate 230 wind turbine blade main beam carbon plate production lines at full capacity all year round, with an annual capacity of 50k tons. In the domestic wind turbine blade market, 95 out of 100 blades use our main beam carbon plates,” said Li Jiaxin, deputy manager of Jilin Chemical Fiber Guoxing Composite Materials Co., Ltd.

A market share of up to 95% means that in this niche segment of wind turbine blade main beam carbon plates, Jilin Chemical Fiber has become irreplaceable.

More profoundly, Jilin is transforming from a material supplier into a standard and solution provider for the industry. Through deep collaboration with leading enterprises of “China-sized” scale, carbon fiber is transformed from raw material in workshops into the “skeleton” supporting China’s aerospace, wind power, hydrogen energy, automotive, and other industries.

Ten years of hard work, from “white silk” to “black silk” comeback

Looking back at the starting point of this comeback, it dates back to 2006.

At that time, Jilin Chemical Fiber, a traditional textile enterprise, resolutely entered this nearly blank high-risk field.

In the workshop, a slogan silently tells of the initial hardships: “Better to turn black hair white than to turn white silk into black silk.”

From 2008’s 500 kilograms, to the 5,000-ton precursor filament project in 2011, and to the successful start-up of the 10,000-ton carbonization line in 2022, Jilin Chemical Fiber has taken nearly twenty years on this path.

By 2025, the company not only completed the comprehensive transformation of the 3K small tow line but also achieved stable mass production of T700 and T800 grade carbon fibers, and officially launched high-performance “dry spray wet method” T800 products. Domestic carbon fiber has fully the capability to enter high-end applications such as large aircraft and high-speed trains.

A single carbon fiber, a new model for Northeast revitalization

During the “14th Five-Year Plan,” Jilin Chemical Fiber’s revenue increased by over 130%. It is not only the largest carbon fiber production base in the world but also the largest producer of viscose, bamboo fiber, and acrylic fibers globally. The global market share of viscose is 30%, acrylic fibers 40%, and every three high-end viscose garments sold worldwide, one may have raw materials from Jilin.

Robotic arm working (Photo from China National Radio Network, Huatai Lai)

According to the plan, within this year, Jilin Chemical Fiber will have seven more carbonization lines completed and put into operation, with total carbon fiber capacity surpassing 100k tons.

This scale, compared to the global demand a decade ago, is equivalent to the total annual demand worldwide at that time; today, it means that for every 10 tons of carbon fiber sold globally, about 7 tons are labeled “Made in Jilin.”

With continuous capacity growth, Jilin is reshaping the world’s perception of the carbon fiber industry. Rooted in the “China Carbon Valley” and leading the global race, Jilin is writing a new chapter in carbon fiber development through practical efforts, injecting strong momentum into comprehensive revitalization.