I. Current Status of Guangxi's Raw Material Resources and Advantages for Industrial Development
1. Guangxi boasts unique resource endowments.
Guangxi is located in the subtropical region, with the Tropic of Cancer “green belt” crossing its central area. It enjoys favorable natural conditions including sunlight, water, and heat. Tree growth rates are approximately 2–3 times the national average, making Guangxi one of the most suitable regions in the world for forest growth.
Guangxi has the largest plantation forest area in China, mainly consisting of eucalyptus, pine, and Chinese fir, with a total area exceeding 150 million mu, accounting for one-tenth of the national total. From 2021 to 2025, Guangxi’s annual timber output exceeded 46 million cubic meters. With only about 5% of China’s forest land, Guangxi produced 40% of the country’s timber, ranking first nationwide. In 2025, the total output value of Guangxi's forestry and grass industry reached RMB 1.16 trillion. Its abundant forest resources provide strong “green support” for the pulp and paper industry.
2. Guangxi has a rapidly emerging industrial cluster.
In recent years, Guangxi's pulp and paper industry has maintained strong growth momentum, sustaining annual growth rates above 20% for four consecutive years. In particular, in 2025, the paper manufacturing industry achieved an industrial output value above designated size of RMB 85.4 billion, with value-added growth reaching 39.1%, ranking first among all industrial sectors in Guangxi. Output of machine-made paper and paperboard reached 11.98 million tons, up 38% year-on-year. A number of major projects have accelerated implementation. Leading enterprises such as APP, Nine Dragons, Sun Paper, Lee & Man, Jianhui, Xianhe, Zhihu, Huatai, and Yusen have established operations in Guangxi. In the second half of last year, several additional wood and bamboo fiber projects were signed. Pulp and paper industrial clusters along Guangxi's coastal and river regions have begun to take shape.
3. Guangxi enjoys strategic geographic advantages with access to rivers and seas.
As China’s only autonomous region that is both coastal and border-connected, Guangxi serves as a key hub linking Southwest China, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and ASEAN countries, while also acting as an important gateway connecting to the Belt and Road Initiative.
The policy environment is highly supportive. The Central Regional Coordinated Development Leading Group has introduced dedicated policies, including separate assessment of pollutant discharge quotas for forestry-pulp-paper integration projects in pilot border-port industrial parks, as well as preferential tax policies such as “five-year exemption and five-year half reduction” for eligible enterprises.
Guangxi's location advantages are highly significant. The Pinglu Canal, known as the “project of the century,” is expected to open to navigation this year. Containers departing from Beibu Gulf Port can reach Singapore within 72 hours and Europe within 12 days. Supported by the Western Land-Sea New Corridor and China-Europe Railway Express, transportation time is more than 15 days faster than traditional maritime shipping. Nanning Airport’s four-hour flight circle covers major Southeast Asian cities, creating a highly efficient global logistics network. These geographic advantages have driven substantial growth in Guangxi's pulp and paper trade volume. Imports of pulp and related products increased from 360,000 tons in 2020 to 1.12 million tons in 2025, while exports rose from 120,000 tons to 1.62 million tons, forming a mutually reinforcing industrial ecosystem for both domestic and international markets.
II. Three Major Challenges Facing Guangxi's Pulp and Paper Raw Materials
1. Coexistence of total resource advantages and structural shortages.
In terms of raw material supply, Guangxi demonstrates the characteristic of “abundant total volume but prominent structural contradictions.” Although Guangxi ranks first nationwide in timber production, resources must simultaneously satisfy the needs of both the wood-based panel industry and the pulp and paper industry. Preliminary estimates indicate that Guangxi's pulp and paper industry requires more than 30 million cubic meters of timber annually. The industry remains highly dependent on imports of wood chips and pulp, with demand increasing by approximately 20% each year.
2. Lack of specially cultivated pulpwood resources.
Currently, fast-growing eucalyptus plantations in Guangxi are primarily intended for the wood panel industry. Plantation varieties, planting density, and harvesting cycles are not specifically designed for pulp and paper applications. In addition, Guangxi mainly relies on eucalyptus species and lacks specialty fiber raw materials such as softwood pulp and bamboo pulp, resulting in a single raw material structure and weak risk resistance.
3. Incomplete raw material supply system.
Guangxi is located within China’s southern collective forest region, where forest ownership is fragmented and business entities are highly diversified. Most wood chip enterprises are small and scattered, lacking large-scale wood chip processing plants. Meanwhile, Guangxi has not yet established a comprehensive wood chip supply system, making aggregation and trading of wood chip resources difficult. From 2026 to 2030, Guangxi's pulp and paper production capacity will continue to expand, and the current fragmented raw material supply system will not be able to meet growing demand.
III. Four Major Strategies for Sustainable Supply of Guangxi's Pulp and Paper Raw Materials
1. Better integration of an effective government and an efficient market.
High-quality industrial development requires both government guidance and support as well as the vitality of the market.
On the government side, the Guangxi Autonomous Region Government has listed “forest products processing and paper industry” among the ten pillar manufacturing industries of the region. Guangxi is promoting high-quality development through a “Five-One” working mechanism: one provincial-level leader, one dedicated task force, one action plan, one industrial fund, and one group of chain-leading enterprises.
From 2026 to 2030, Guangxi's annual forest harvesting quota is expected to increase steadily, while commercial timber output will continue to lead the nation. Guangxi will also introduce special measures to support high-quality development of forest products processing and the paper industry, including planning raw material forest bases specifically for pulp and paper production, implementing major forestry research projects, selecting superior tree and bamboo species for pulp and paper applications, and encouraging long-term supply cooperation between large-scale forestry operators and enterprises.
On the market side, Guangxi will fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, encouraging enterprises to integrate resources through mergers, acquisitions, and equity cooperation, while enhancing market competitiveness through brand building and technological innovation. Industry associations will also be guided to establish self-regulatory mechanisms to standardize market order and avoid destructive low-price competition.
2. Gradual adjustment of industrial structure.
First, establishment and improvement of the timber supply system. Guangxi will further promote intensive forest land management and support state-owned forest farms, large enterprises, and professional cooperatives in leading large-scale operation projects involving multiple stakeholders. Dispersed forest rights resources will be integrated through equity cooperation and leasing arrangements.
Guangxi will vigorously promote national reserve forest projects and high-quality fast-growing forest projects to improve output quality for fast-growing and large-diameter timber, while developing new fast-growing eucalyptus varieties suitable for the paper industry. State-owned Dongmen Forest Farm and Qipo Forest Farm are exploring mixed planting models such as “eucalyptus + acacia” to produce diversified pulpwood species. Guigang City has implemented national reserve forest projects to provide raw materials for leading enterprises such as Lee & Man and Zhihu.
Second, expansion of imported raw material supplies. Guangxi will continue relying on traditional suppliers such as ASEAN countries and New Zealand while gradually expanding into Africa and South America to effectively address international trade barriers. In 2025, Guangxi signed forestry cooperation memoranda with Laos and Cambodia, and plans to cooperate with Laos and other countries in establishing raw material forest bases and related industrial parks for wood chips and pulp.
Third, precise improvement of forest land productivity. Guangxi will strengthen soil quality monitoring and improve acidic and nutrient-deficient soils caused by long-term monoculture rotation. It will develop precision fertilization technologies and new fertilizers suitable for pulpwood plantations to effectively improve forest productivity.
Fourth, integration and optimization of wood processing and paper production capacity. Guangxi will optimize existing wood-based panel capacity and shift the industry focus from expansion to quality improvement during 2026–2030. A number of rotary veneer and primary plywood facilities will be rationally consolidated. New paper production capacity will also be strictly controlled in terms of product structure and environmental standards to guide healthy industry competition.
Fifth, promotion of upgrading of the local industrial value chain. Guangxi will support technical upgrading projects for existing paper mills, transforming production from ordinary commodity pulp to high-value specialty pulps such as dissolving pulp and fluff pulp.
3. Strengthening innovation across the entire industrial chain.
In terms of breeding and germplasm development, Guangxi will focus on eucalyptus, pine, acacia, and bamboo species. It will selectively breed new varieties with fast growth, strong resistance, low lignin, and high cellulose content based on characteristics related to pulping performance, and promote large-scale commercialization through technology extension channels.
Regarding information platforms, Guangxi will promote the forestry industry internet platform, integrating log and wood chip supply channels across Guangxi and neighboring provinces. The platform will provide supply chain financial services and enable real-time payments for wood chip traders, easing procurement capital pressure on pulp and paper enterprises.
For imported pulp procurement, the platform will collect internet data to establish commodity price forecasting models and predict supply changes in major producing regions, helping enterprises determine optimal purchasing opportunities. The Forestry Internet Platform has already established partnerships with Sun Paper, Xianhe Paper, Huatai Paper, and other companies, integrated numerous small and medium-sized wood chip enterprises, built an efficient supply-demand platform, and successfully provided over RMB 80 million in supply chain financial services.
Regarding artificial intelligence applications, Guangxi will develop AI application scenarios for forest management, using AI to optimize cultivation plans and automatically adjust fertilization, irrigation, and disease prevention measures based on monitoring data. Technologies such as 3S and the Internet of Things will be used to achieve real-time monitoring and dynamic management of forest resources and tree growth.
4. Deepening industrial collaboration.
First, improvement of industrial clustering. Guangxi is planning and constructing a number of high-standard forestry-pulp-paper integrated industrial demonstration parks and bases, equipped with core functions including pulping, papermaking, deep processing, biomass energy, environmental treatment, warehousing, and logistics.
Infrastructure such as centralized heating, water supply, wastewater treatment, solid waste treatment, port terminals, and dedicated railway lines will also be improved. Priority support will be provided for key factors such as land use quotas and environmental capacity.
Guigang City is building the China-ASEAN household paper industrial park, attracting 12 enterprises including Lee & Man and Zhihu. Nanning is promoting the “pulp-paper products-packaging and printing” industrial chain and has introduced Sun Paper's Nanning pulp and paper base, France's SNF papermaking chemicals project, and downstream enterprises such as Jiada Paper, Jisheng Packaging, and Gemei Packaging.
Second, expansion of domestic and international markets. Guangxi will make full use of open cooperation platforms such as the World Forestry Industry Conference and the China-ASEAN Expo, encouraging pulp and paper enterprises to participate in exhibitions, promote exchanges of new technologies and products, and expand cooperation opportunities.
Guangxi will actively build distinctive forestry-pulp-paper brands and support enterprises in obtaining FSC certification and ecological product certification to establish a standards system covering the entire industrial chain.
Third, better financial support. Guangxi will make full use of government-guided investment funds and precisely allocate special funds for the pulp and paper industry. Policy-based financial guidance will focus on modern raw material forest base construction, major environmental upgrading projects, and key common technology research and development.
Inclusive financial services for the raw material sector will also be expanded. In response to financing needs of scattered forest farmers, small cooperatives, and storage and transportation entities, financial institutions will be encouraged to develop dedicated credit products.
