The China PX protest is a series of public demonstrations against the presence of para-xylene (PX) chemical factories in several Chinese cities, including Xiamen, Dalian, Ningbo, Kunming and Maoming among them.
The protests arose from the concern and fear of the residents in these cities about the environmental and health risks of PX. Citizens organised strolls and marches of various scales through text messages and social media to demand that the municipal and central governments relocate or terminate the PX projects.
PX market in China
PX demand
Para-xylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, used primarily as a raw material in the manufacture of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT). Since 2010, China has been the world's largest PX consumer. From 1992 to 2005, the annual consumption of PX in China grew by 16.36%.
China's consumption of PX in DMT production has declined since 2013. Almost all PX is concentrated in the PTA sector for the production of polyester. In 2015, China's consumption of polyester reached 37.04 million tons. China's demand for PX was expected to climb to 26.5 million tons by 2020.
PX supply
Demand for PX has been increasing due to the rapid development of China's polyester and PTA sectors. However, domestic output has remained rather stagnant. In 2005, China's demand exceeded internal supply by 1.55 million tons and the deficit was met mainly by imports. The country's apparent consumption of PX was 16.572 million tons in 2013, which showed an increase of 19.9% over the previous year. Output was 7.7 million tons, the same as in 2012. From 2010 to 2014, apparent consumption increased by nearly 8 million tons, whilst output only increased by slightly more than 1 million tons.
By 2015, Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) were the two largest holders, which accounted for nearly 71.3% of Chinese PX production capacity. By 2014, China had 15 proposals for new facilities and expansion of existing ones, with a combined production capacity of 12.42 million tons. In 2015, a number of PX projects in preparation were approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC), which is a macroeconomic management agency under the Chinese State Council. Most of them were still in the preliminary stage due to growing awareness of environmental concern and strong public opposition. As a result, the supply shortfall has continued to widen.
PX imports
China has relied heavily on PX imports to satisfy domestic demand. In 2014, imported PX supplied more than 50% of the country's total market demand. In 2015, China's dependence on imported PX rose to 56%, and profits were lost in the import process. Major sources included Korea and Japan, which accounted for 94.1% of the total imports in 2005. The third-largest source is Taiwan. In 2015, these three sources together provided 8.93 million tons, equivalent to 76.7% of the total. It has been expected that China would continue to import greater quantities of PX.
Protests
2007 Xiamen protest
In 2004, the Chinese State Council approved the proposal to construct the biggest PX plant in the world in Haicang District, Xiamen city, Fujian Province. It was estimated to produce 800,000 tons of PX by the end of 2008, and to generate 80 billion yuan annually, one-fourth of Xiamen's GDP. On 26 May, the Xiamen municipal government announced its approval for the PX project. Construction started on 27 May.
On 1 June 2007, 8,000 to 10,000 citizens took to the streets and demanded the municipality abandon the PX project. The protestors included 105 national committee members and dozens of university presidents and academicians. Zhao Yufen, the youngest woman elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Xiamen University, also participated in the march. She was regarded as the catalyst who transformed "the small-scale and sporadic petitions and complaints" into "public campaigns".