The global paper industry is experiencing 'extreme contrasts': Chinese paper giants are engaging in 'suicidal' expansion, while major Western and European players are aggressively shutting down factories.

This simultaneous increase and decrease is not merely a reflection of differing market temperatures, but rather a fierce collision between two fundamentally distinct survival strategies. China’s paper industry faces a profound paradox: on one hand, newly added capacity far outpaces demand growth, plunging the sector into a vicious cycle where 'the more production expands, the less profitable it becomes'; yet on the other hand, massive investments by industry leaders have never ceased! Their core logic has shifted away from sharing the spoils of incremental market growth—instead, it now centers on securing a seat at the final table of an increasingly consolidated, zero-sum game. In this battle, 'integrated forestry-pulp-paper operations' is the most critical strategic weapon: only enterprises controlling upstream pulp supply can maintain cost advantages amid brutal price wars. Nine Dragons Paper has invested hundreds of millions of yuan in Beihai (Guangxi) and Chongqing to build a colossal layout with an annual capacity of up to 9.1 million tons; Sun Paper has upgraded its virgin pulp production lines into high-value-added product lines, shifting from traditional papermaking toward biomass refining; and companies including Wuzhou Special Paper, Shandong Century Sunshine, Xianhe Holdings, and Huatai Group are all undertaking large-scale investments—all aiming to extend vertically upstream and firmly grasp control over the lifeline of the industrial chain. During this industry downturn, giants deliberately expand capacity, exacerbating oversupply and driving product prices below cost levels. Their objective is clear and ruthless: accepting short-term profit losses as a strategic sacrifice to exhaust small- and medium-sized enterprises lacking upstream raw material advantages and financial strength—accelerating industry consolidation and ultimately achieving market clearance. This is, in every sense, a genuine 'strangulation war'! In stark contrast to China’s intense internal competition, Western and European paper industry leaders pursue a 'subtraction strategy'—calm, pragmatic, and grounded.

Industry | The title of world’s largest paper producer has changed hands: a new company has overtaken Nine Dragons Paper, reaching an output of 23.481 million tons.

November 2025 update: U.S.-based trade magazine Paper360 released its list of the world’s 27 paper and paperboard manufacturers with annual production (capacity) exceeding 2 million tons, reporting a combined output of 159.769 million tons. As the world’s largest paper and paperboard producer, China had nine enterprises on the list (including two from Taiwan), unchanged from last year; Japan followed closely with four, while the United States, Finland, Sweden, and Austria each had two; Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom each had one. Four Chinese enterprises ranked among the top ten: Nine Dragons Paper (21.67 million tons), Sun Paper (7.57 million tons), Lee & Man Paper (7.4 million tons), and Shanhai International (7.24 million tons), placing second, fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively. The remaining five Chinese firms on the list were Chenming Paper, Rongcheng, Yongfengyu, China Paper, and Yangguang Paper. Nine Dragons Paper operates ten papermaking bases across China (Dongguan, Taicang, Quanzhou, Chongqing, Jingzhou, Tianjin, Hebei, Shenyang, Leshan, and Beihai), primarily producing kraft linerboard, premium specialty papers and pulp products, high-strength corrugating medium, coated grey-back white board, white cardboard, and cultural papers. Simultaneously, the company continues advancing its internationalization strategy: it operates one papermaking base in Vietnam (producing kraft linerboard and eco-friendly kraft linerboard, with a total designed annual capacity of 450,000 tons); one pulp-and-paper mill and one papermaking base in Malaysia (located in Bentong and Selangor respectively); and four pulp-and-paper mills in the United States (Rumford and Old Town in Maine; Biron in Wisconsin; Fairmont in West Virginia), mainly producing single-coated paper, coated fine paper (art paper), and specialty papers. In fiscal year 2025 (July 2024–June 2025), high-end papermaking and raw-material configuration expansion projects in Beihai (Guangxi) and Jingzhou (Hubei) were successfully commissioned. In the current quarter, Jingzhou’s facility—capable of producing 1.2 million tons of white cardboard and 700,000 tons of wood pulp annually—and Beihai’s facility—designed for 400,000 tons of cultural paper annually—both commenced operations. Four enterprises worldwide exceeded 10 million tons in annual output: besides Nine Dragons Paper, the others were Smurfit Westrock (Ireland), International Paper (U.S.), and Oji Holdings (Japan).

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