The whole country has focused its eyes more closely on the establishment of 15 important paper mills, each with an annual output of 100,000 tons, enhancing process efficiencies in papermaking and improving the appearance and performance of the final product. Throughout the efforts, China has also drawn abundant foreign funds and introduced modern technologies and equipments. Today, its condition in many mills has tapped the international level in 1990s. Official statistics in 1996 shows that, the industrial yield in the country’s paper trade has amounted to 26,440,000 tons, soaring 485 percent over the same period in 1980.

However, China cannot a bit be called a paper magnate either from its output or consumption. The paper industry in the country still suffers much from great poverty and has a larger distance from the great power’s.

The country’s paper mills is large in number and small in scale, with shortage of competitive power. According to the official statistics, of the nationwide 6,000 mills, only more than 100 run on a scale of 10,000 tons and 30 or so over 3,000 tons. The technology in most of the mills still rests on the international level in 60s or 70s.

Non-wood fiber enjoys proportional superiority in Chinese paper mills, accounting for 80 percent of the materials. The technological gap between Chinese and the international paper industry has imposed restrictions on the structural optimization and industrial upgrade.

About 33,500,000 tons of pulp, paper and paperboard is available annually in China now, an average of 26.5 kilograms per person, taking only half of the per capita consumption in the world. The total volume of the investment in paper industry has just reached about 10 billion yuan annually, which cannot by far serve its development. The lack of funds has become a bottleneck in the development of Chinese paper industry.

In addition, the country’s paper consumption is increasing by an annual degree of 70 percent, which is likely to come up to more than 8 million tons by the year of 2015. An urgent investment is badly in need, especial in the field of quality corrugated paper, newsprint, printing paper, kraft paper, etc. to date.

(CIIC 12/11/2000)