What drives China's aromatics market balance and price trends in 2025?

What drives China's aromatics market balance and price trends in 2025?
China remains the global center for aromatics production, consumption, and trade, with PX capacity accounting for about 54% of the world total. In 2024, only 200,000 tons of new PX capacity were added globally, all in China, while several overseas units shut down, marking a pause in expansion. For 2025, no clear PX capacity growth is expected, and the industry is in an adjustment phase. Domestic PX supply will be relatively tight, pushing operating rates higher, but the self-sufficiency rate may still decline, requiring import supplements. Downstream PTA-PET chains face persistent oversupply, concentrating profits at the feedstock end. Exporting downstream products remains a key outlet for absorbing excess capacity, while Northeast Asia's share of global PX capacity rose to 69.3% in 2024.