The trade war between China and the United States emphasized the need for a highly controlled domestic supply chain across industries for China, said speakers at the China Inter Lubric event in Shanghai. China’s lubricant industry was recently successful at reducing reliance on American technologies, but there’s still a long way to go to achieve total self-sufficiency.
China, the world’s largest lubricant consumer and net exporter of lubricant additives, has gained progress in self-sufficiency for additives and lubes. Still, domestic supply for high-tech sectors like electrified vehicles and industrial robotics remains a challenge.
An Wenjie, a senior engineer at CNPC’s Lanzhou R&D institute, pointed out that Chinese suppliers can produce common additives but are slow to develop new types. For instance, blenders still rely on imported defoamers for industrial lubes used in high temperatures and heavy load conditions. An urged Chinese suppliers to improve their molecular design capabilities to develop innovative additives.
Plug-in hybrid EVs present an area for R&D investment, An suggested. Their engines can suffer water ingress in low temperatures, causing dilution and emulsification. Despite efforts, “there is no perfect solution to eliminate the water,” An said. The market for hybrids in China is large, offering significant opportunities for developers. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that Chinese drivers bought 5.14 million PHEVs in 2024, soaring 83.3% from 2023, compared with only 15.5% for BEV sales.
Other additives China needs to import include certain polymethacrylate types for high-performance lubes and long-lasting antioxidants that can withstand high temperatures, such as those generated by data centers.
Chinese suppliers should learn from foreign counterparts who often improve additives by studying how additive change during a lube’s lifecycle. An said understanding client lubricants’ performance provides insights into tweaking additives.
The lube sector faces similar challenges as additives, proved by intensified homogenous competition in recent years. The market is flooded with common engine oils for internal combustion vehicles but lacks thermal management fluids and gearbox oils for EVs, said Xu Haidong, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers’ special executive deputy secretary-general.
Xu noted that in differentiated, high-tech areas like bio-based lubes and gear oils for reducers used in industrial robots,Chinese players are scarce.
“I don’t see many Chinese companies in these areas,” he said.