[The escalation of the Sino-US trade war has impacted the silicone industry chain. Local companies are accelerating their efforts to break through and layout high-end materials]
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Affected by the tariff policy and technology export restrictions of the Sino-US trade war, the global silicone industry chain is undergoing a deep reconstruction. The 25% tariff list recently imposed by the United States on China covers silicone deep-processing products such as silicone oil and silicone rubber, while China's countermeasures involve the import of DMC, the upstream raw material of silicone. The two-way clamping has led to a general increase in industry costs of 10%-15%.
As an "industrial vitamin", silicone materials are facing supply chain challenges. The price of electronic-grade silicone rubber has risen due to the surge in demand for chip packaging, and the delivery cycle of high-temperature resistant silicone accessories used in Tesla's new models has been extended; silicone oil for daily chemicals is affected by raw material fluctuations, and multiple shampoo brands are planning to adjust prices. What is more noteworthy is that the special silicone resin materials used in AI server cooling systems have been forced to accelerate domestic substitution research and development by companies such as Bluestar and Xingfa due to the US restrictions on the export of high-end polysilazane.
Industry analysts pointed out that the current organic silicon industry presents a "ice and fire" phenomenon: the demand for traditional building sealants has shrunk, but the demand for high-end fields such as new energy vehicle battery pack encapsulation silicone and folding screen mobile phone hinges has soared by 300%. With the construction boom of AI computing centers, modified silicon materials with high temperature resistance and insulation properties are becoming a new focus of technical research.
Driven by the "dual circulation" strategy, my country's organic silicon companies have improved their competitiveness through vertical integration of the industrial chain. The 100,000-ton photovoltaic-grade silicone rubber project that will be put into production at the Yunnan base of Hesheng Silicon Industry, and Dongyue Group's breakthrough in the mass production technology of electronic-grade polysilazane, mark the industry's breakthrough into high value-added fields. Experts predict that the organic silicon industry will usher in a deep reshuffle in 2024, and technological innovation capabilities will become the key to victory.
