2026 Coatings Conference Special Report: During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's coatings industry has fully entered an in-depth stage of high-quality development. Green low-carbon transformation, intelligent manufacturing and independent core technology innovation have become the core drivers of industrial upgrading. Driven by the iterative upgrading of downstream industries including new energy, high-end equipment, energy storage and aerospace, the coatings industry faces new structural development opportunities, as well as challenges in technological breakthroughs, energy conservation, carbon reduction and industrial optimization. Aligning with national industrial strategies and accelerating transformation and upgrading has become the key for coatings enterprises to break through development bottlenecks.

The 2026 Coatings Conference was held on April 15. At the conference, Gui Taijiang, Director of the Technical Expert Committee of China National Coatings Industry Association, delivered a special interpretation of the Review on the Development of China's Coatings Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan and Development Guidelines (Draft) for the 15th Five-Year Plan. He systematically summarized the achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and clarified the key development directions, principles and core tasks for the 15th Five-Year Plan, providing authoritative references for the medium and long-term strategic layout of industrial enterprises.

I. Review of the 14th Five-Year Plan: Achievements and Existing Deficiencies

According to public data released at the 2026 Coatings Conference, by the end of 2025, the main business income of China's coatings industry reached RMB 388.15 billion, with a total output of 34.602 million tons and a total profit of RMB 29.25 billion, ranking among the world's leading industrial scales. In 2025, the global coatings market value stood at approximately USD 213.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.49%. The Asian market accounted for 43% of the global share, while China's market accounted for 24%, maintaining leading competitiveness in most market segments.

The industrial supporting foundation has been continuously optimized. In 2025, China's consumption of coating resins reached 12.11 million tons, with steady growth in the production capacity and output of epoxy resin and acrylic emulsion. The proportion of environmentally friendly coating additives exceeded 50%, and the domestic substitution of functional additives accelerated. The production scale of titanium dioxide remained leading globally. 

Remarkable results have been achieved in industrial structural adjustment. The proportion of environmentally friendly coatings reached 71%, exceeding the 14th Five-Year Plan target of 70%. The market share of industrial protective coatings increased steadily, while that of water-based architectural interior and exterior coatings declined slightly. Industrial agglomeration effects have become prominent. China has cultivated 4 enterprises with annual revenue exceeding RMB 10 billion, 5 enterprises above RMB 5 billion and 42 enterprises above RMB 1 billion. The total revenue of enterprises listed in the industry's Top 100 Index reached RMB 177 billion, with leading enterprises delivering prominent driving effects.

The green manufacturing system has taken initial shape. More than 60 production bases have been awarded the national green factory certification, and 6 enterprises have been selected into the national green supply chain list. Leading enterprises have widely carried out carbon verification and carbon footprint accounting, with the carbon emission intensity per unit product declining steadily. With the improvement of environmental protection regulations and industrial standards, the industry's pollution control capacity and green production level have been continuously improved. In addition, industrial innovation and R&D, industrial transfer and international cooperation have advanced in an orderly manner.

Nevertheless, the industry still faces prominent deficiencies. Structural contradictions have not been completely resolved. The independent R&D and innovation capacity for core technologies of high-end coatings needs further improvement. The industry is under pressure from energy conservation, carbon reduction and cyclic governance. In addition, there is a shortage of high-end technical talents and compound management talents, and the talent training system requires continuous optimization.

II. Four Development Principles: Strategic Transformation Orientation for the 15th Five-Year Plan

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the coatings industry will continue to serve national manufacturing upgrading strategies, and provide high-performance and functional coating materials for strategic emerging industries such as new energy, power equipment, aerospace and energy storage. The industry needs to coordinate four core relationships to ensure stable and high-quality industrial development.

First, balance total scale and benefits. The industry will abandon the traditional development model of prioritizing scale over quality, and realize coordinated growth of industrial scale and economic benefits through technological innovation and product upgrading. Second, coordinate short-term development and long-term layout. In the short term, the industry will strengthen the supply of high-end coatings to meet the needs of emerging downstream industries. In the long run, it will lay out forward-looking fields including bio-based coatings, intelligent coatings and AI-assisted formula R&D to reserve long-term technological momentum.

Third, integrate development with security to build three lines of defense for supply chain, environmental and data safety. The industry will enhance the independent supply capacity of core raw materials, promote the substitution of low-VOC raw materials, improve the recycling system of waste coatings and packaging materials, and protect core intellectual property rights such as coating formulas and process data. Fourth, coordinate domestic and international markets. Based on the huge domestic market, enterprises will further explore domestic demand. Meanwhile, competitive enterprises represented by RISUN will steadily expand overseas businesses under the Belt and Road Initiative to enhance international competitiveness.

III. Eight Core Tasks: Steadily Advancing the Construction of a World-Class Coatings Industry Power

The core development goal of the coatings industry in the 15th Five-Year Plan is to build a modern coatings industrial system featuring safety, green development, intelligence and high-end quality. The industry has defined eight core tasks covering scientific and technological innovation, digital transformation, green low-carbon upgrading, resource guarantee, industrial structure optimization, future industrial layout, leading enterprise cultivation and international governance, to drive all-round industrial quality improvement.

With the implementation of the above tasks, industrial development efficiency will be continuously improved. By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the proportion of environmentally friendly coatings is expected to rise to 75%, with products upgrading toward high-end, functional and specialized directions. The industry will carry out gradient transfer to central, western and northeastern China to form a rational industrial layout. Core technological breakthroughs will be accelerated, driving the industry to shift from technological follow-up to parallel development, with partial leading advantages in frontier fields.

In terms of enterprise cultivation, the industry aims to build 1 to 2 globally influential coating enterprise groups with annual revenue exceeding RMB 30 billion and 5 leading enterprises with annual revenue over RMB 10 billion, while incubating a number of specialized, refined, innovative enterprises and single-product champion enterprises. Intelligent manufacturing will be further promoted through the construction of smart factories and workshops, and AI technology will be widely applied in coating R&D, production and quality inspection. For green low-carbon development, the industry strives to achieve carbon peaking by 2030. Compared with the 2025 baseline, the carbon emission per unit output value and VOCs emission will decrease by 18% and 20% respectively, further improving the green manufacturing and recycling system.

IV. Long-term Outlook: Striving for the 2035 Goal of a World-Class Coatings Industry Power

In the medium and long term, the coatings industry will maintain steady growth and continuous structural optimization. By 2030, a new industrial pattern coordinated by high-end functional coatings, green coatings and core supporting raw materials will take shape. Looking ahead to 2035, with the implementation of successive national five-year plans, China will grow into a world-leading coatings industry power, serving as a global innovation source and core supplier of high-end coating products, and continuously elevate its position in the global industrial value chain.

In the future, independent core technologies will be applied on a large scale, effectively reducing reliance on imports. The green circular development model will become mainstream, and a number of internationally competitive leading enterprises will emerge. The construction of a world-class coatings industry power during the 15th Five-Year Plan is a systematic project. Guided by national policies, the industry will coordinate safe development, low-carbon transformation, technological innovation and international layout, and consolidate the material foundation for China's manufacturing power strategy.

Source: 2026 Coatings Conference, Review on the Development of China's Coatings Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan and Development Guidelines (Draft) for the 15th Five-Year PlanDisclaimer: The industrial targets mentioned in this article are from industry draft discussions. All data are sourced from public industrial materials, for enterprise internal learning and website publicity reference only, and do not constitute industrial development conclusions.

Risun commenced the production of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol in 2021, boasting an annual capacity of 5,000 metric tons. Supported by an integrated chemical production platform and stringent full-process quality control, the product features excellent batch consistency. Flexible production scheduling can be arranged to meet order requirements of coatings customers, ensuring long-term and stable supply of high-quality products.In the green upgrading process of water-based coatings, 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol  serves as a vital functional raw material. Widely applied in water-based architectural coatings and industrial protective coatings, it effectively adjusts system pH value, improves pigment dispersion, reduces odor and enhances storage stability. It supports low-VOC green production and acts as a core material for the iterative upgrading of coating formulations.

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on publicly available information and is intended solely for industry exchange and reference. It does not constitute investment or business decision-making advice. Certain data are sourced from public channels and are not guaranteed to be fully accurate. Product-related content is for industry introduction purposes only and does not constitute a transactional commitment.