China's private petroleum, chemical sector set for robust and broad growth

China's vast private petroleum and chemical sector is positioned for robust and broad growth, according to a recently released report by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

This is driven by its aggressive pivot from traditional processing toward high-end specialization across the value chain, it said.

The 2025 China Petroleum and Chemical Private Enterprise Development Report, released by the federation, underscored the robust performance and increasing strategic importance of private capital in one of China's most critical industrial sectors.

"China's vast private petroleum and chemical sector has solidified its dominance, with its top 100 companies generating more than 5.67 trillion yuan ($788 billion) in revenue last year," Li Yunpeng, president of the federation, said. 

"This highlights the sector's broad prospects for future growth," he said.

According to Li, the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) is an important period for historical changes in China's petroleum and chemical industry. The number of large-scale private enterprises in the industry surpassed 30,000 in 2024, accounting for over 90 percent of the total.

The combined revenue of the top 100 private players alone contributed 34.8 percent of the entire industry's revenue, with 57 of those companies reporting individual revenues exceeding 10 billion yuan, it said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn