Fueling a Producer Society: Synthetic Fibers, Trade Expansion, and Economic Self-Reliance, 1963–85

As of 2025, China sits at the core of the global synthetic-fiber supply chain, accounting for 73 percent of worldwide production by volume, while serving as the leading exporter of synthetic textiles and other plastic-based consumer goods. The synthetics sector, which ultimately turned China into the workshop of the world, is deeply linked to fossil fuels and to the petrochemical industry that transforms them into consumer manufacturing inputs. Materials common in today’s mainstream clothing, such as polyester and acrylic, are derived from petroleum-based chemical processing, whereas vinylon, a coarser material, draws on coal as its primary raw material.

This paper charts the evolution of China’s synthetic fiber industry, following a narrative arc in which coal-based synthetics gradually gave way to petroleum-based materials. It shows how Chinese planners initially drew on the country’s abundant coal reserves to launch vinylon production in 1963. Only after the country achieved a petroleum surplus in the early 1970s did the central leadership move decisively to develop petroleum-based synthetics, significantly expanding output volumes and product diversity.

By tracing this shift from coal to petroleum, the paper demonstrates the CCP leadership’s commitment to domestically sourcing industrial raw materials, while pushing production beyond primary commodities toward higher value manufacturing. At the same time, by documenting the extensive use of imported technology in constructing the synthetics sector, this paper argues that the Mao-era principle of self-reliance (自力更生) meant not autarky but the creation of a complete supply chain – from upstream petrochemical feedstock production to garment making – to guard against sanctions and secure production. This approach continued to shape China’s trade policy and industrial strategy well beyond the Mao era. And the integrated petrochemical-textile production chain enabled the rapid expansion of manufacturing capacity and fueled consumer-goods exports during the reform period.