Thanks to its continuous efforts to consolidate and enhance the core advantages in the advanced materials industry, Shanghai has become a national hub for advanced materials industry clustering, known for its strong innovation capabilities, complete industrial chain, and prominent specialized segments.

Achievements in 2025

​Industry Support

New Industry Development Opportunities

• Shanghai focuses on developing three major innovation hubs for fibers, membranes, and biomanufacturing, while cultivating and expanding five industry clusters, including composite materials, catalytic new materials, electronic chemicals, high-temperature superconductors, and graphene;
• By 2027, another 12 new materials pilot bases and 20 new enterprise technology centers at the municipal level or above will be established, contributing to an output value of 350 billion yuan ($ 52.26 billion), with new materials accounting for over 45 percent of the raw materials industry.

Continuous Technological R&D

• Matmind, an intelligent inorganic materials system developed by Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has shortened the traditional R&D cycle for 5G/6G key materials from 10 years to 1 year;
• Accuracy in predicting the performance of resins for wind turbine blades has greatly improved, shortening initial raw material screening time by 30 percent and reducing trial-and-error attempts by 50 percent.

Inexhaustible Innovation Momentum

• 28 new material technologies and industrialized applications won the 2024 Shanghai Science and Technology Award;
• 11 municipal-level new material pilot bases were established, covering fields such as chemicals, metals, and biology;
• More than 10 key municipal-level or higher laboratories were established, with the support from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, and other universities and research institutes.

Highlight Elements

Industry Associations: Shanghai New Materials Association, Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM), etc.

Conventions & Exhibitions: China (Shanghai) Optoelectronic Materials Conference, Shanghai International New Materials Industry Exhibition of China International Industry Fair, China International Composites Industrial Technical Expo, etc.

Industry Platforms: Shanghai Carbon Fiber Composite Materials Innovation Research Institute, Shanghai Graphene Industry Technology Functional Platform, Shanghai Institute of IC Materials, Shanghai Electronic Chemicals Innovation Research Institute, etc.

Industry Policies

Special Plan for Accelerating the Development of Intelligent Material Engines in Shanghai (2025-2027)

Three-Year Action Plan to Support the Transformation and Upgrading of Advanced Manufacturing in Shanghai (2026-2028)

Implementation Plan for Promoting the High-quality Development of the New Materials Industry in Shanghai (2025-2027)

• Building a "3+5" industry spatial layout, by further developing 3 major bases and 5 specialized parks;
• Implementing the bounty system to activate industry potential by complementing and strengthening industry chains.

​Exemplary Case

In 2025, Shanghai strengthened its support for foreign investment in the advanced materials industry, allowing foreign-invested enterprises to equally enjoy benefits such as R&D funding, technology renovation subsidies, and multiple policy overlays. This has facilitated foreign-invested enterprises such as BASF and Laird Technologies of Qnity to accelerate their implementation of new projects, covering advanced materials fields including recycled polyamide, electromagnetic shielding, and thermal interface materials.

Industry Map

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai will focus on the development of the advanced materials industry in Baoshan, Jinshan and Fengxian, to accelerate the growth of transformation force in the metal materials and new chemical materials.

​"3 + 5": Spatial Layout of the Advanced Materials Industry

"3" New Material Bases

• Advanced Metal Materials Base (Baoshan): Aligned with national strategic equipment needs, the base focuses on R&D, innovation, and industrialization of specialty metals for high-strength, lightweight, and extreme operating conditions.
• New Chemical Materials Base (Jinshan, Fengxian): The Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) is one of the seven national petrochemical industry bases planned by the State Council. It has formed an ethylene-led circular economy value chain and a specialized industry cluster focused on new chemical materials.
• Semiconductor Material Bases (Jiading and Lin-gang): Aiming to create two world-leading semiconductor material bases by relying on the increasing efforts of Jiading and Lin-gang in industry planning and capacity building of composite materials for semiconductors and of ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductors.

"5" Specialized Parks

• Super New Material Science and Innovation Park, Carbonbay Industry Park, Fengxian New Chemical Materials Industry Park, Shanghai Electronic Chemicals Special Zone, SCIP INNOGREEN

Source: 2026 Shanghai Foreign Investment Guide