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China Chemicals
China's chemical industry evolved from a negligible base in
1949, grew substantially in the 1950s and early 1960s, and received
major emphasis in the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1984 chemical
products served primarily agriculture and light industry. The three
main areas of chemical manufacturing are chemical fertilizers,
basic chemicals, and organically synthesized products. Chemical
fertilizer was consistently regarded as the key to increased
agricultural output. The output of many chemical products rose
steadily, sometimes dramatically, from 1978 to 1984.
Except for a few items, such as soda ash and synthetic rubber,
the great majority of chemical products, including fertilizer, came
from small factories. Small-scale plants could be built more
quickly and inexpensively than large, modern plants and were
designed to use
low-quality local resources, such as small deposits of coal or
natural gas. They also minimized demands on the overworked
transportation system.
Larger and more modern fertilizer plants were located in every
municipality, province, and autonomous region. In the early 1970s,
China negotiated contracts with foreign firms for construction of
thirteen large nitrogenous-fertilizer plants. By 1980 all thirteen
plants had been completed, and ten were fully operational. From
1980 to 1984 many inefficient fertilizer plants were shut down, and
by 1984 additional plants were being built with the most advanced
equipment available. To capitalize on China's rich mineral
resources, the new plants were being constructed close to coal,
phosphate, and potassium deposits.
Compared with advanced countries, China's chemical fertilizers
lacked phosphate and potassium, and contained too much nitrogen. To
boost supplies of phosphate and potassium, China relied heavily on
imports during the Sixth Five-Year Plan.
Basic chemical production grew rapidly after 1949. In 1983
production of sulfuric acid was approximately 8.7 million tons with
major production centers in Nanjing and Luda, and large plants at
many chemical-fertilizer complexes. Soda-ash output in 1984 was
1.88 million tons, with production concentrated near major sources
of salt, such as large coastal cities, Sichuan and Qinghai
provinces, and the Nei Monggol Autonomous Region. Production of
caustic soda was scattered at large facilities in Dalian, Tianjin,
Shanghai, Taiyuan, Shenyang, and Chongqing. In 1984 output of
caustic soda was 2.22 million tons. Nitric acid and hydrochloric
acid were produced in the northeast, in Shanghai, and in Tianjin.
The chemical industry's organic-synthesis branch manufactured
plastics, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibers, dyes,
pharmaceuticals, and paint. Plastics, synthetic rubber, and
synthetic fibers such as nylon were particularly important in the
modernization drive because they were used to produce such basic
consumer goods as footwear and clothing. From 1979 to 1983,
plastics production grew from 793,000 to 1.1 million tons and
chemical fibers from 326,300 to 540,000 tons. The major centers for
organic synthesis included Shanghai, Jilin, Beijing, Tianjin,
Taiyuan, Jinxi, and Guangzhou. The industry received large amounts
of foreign machinery in the 1970s.
Data as of July 1987
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