Chinaplas 2023 Sets World Record in Scale and Attendance

Chinaplas returned in its full live glory to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on April 17 to 20, in what proved to be the biggest plastics industry event anywhere ever. A record-breaking exhibition area of 380,000 square meters (4,090,286 square feet), more than 3,900 exhibitors packing all 17 dedicated halls plus the conference venue, and a total of 248,222 show visitors, including 28,429 overseas attendees over the course of the four-day event made for packed aisles, stands, and horrendous end-of-day traffic jams. Attendance was up 52% versus the last full-fledged Chinaplas in Guangzhou in 2019, and 673% versus the COVID-hit 2021 edition in Shenzhen.

Although it was hard to stomach the 40-odd minutes it took to exit the underground parking lot on day two, when a record 86,917 industry participants homed in on Chinaplas, once at road level I was able to marvel at the shear multitude of electric and other vehicle models on the street, as well as some quirky model names. My favorites were the gasoline-powered Trumpchi from GAC Group and the “Build Your Dreams” slogan of Chinese EV market leader BYD emblazoned boldly across the tailgate of one of its models.

Speaking of cars, Chinaplas in Guangdong Province traditionally has been an electrical-and-electronics-focused show, given Southern China’s status as a hotbed of manufacturing for the likes of Apple partner Foxconn. But with companies such as BYD transitioning from manufacturing cellphone batteries to becoming a leading EV player and other newcomers emerging in the region, this year’s Chinaplas had a definite automotive tinge to it. This comes as no surprise given that of the approximately four million EVs manufactured in China in 2022, three million were produced in Guangdong Province.
The greenest hall at Chinaplas 2023 must have been Hall 20, which normally functions as a conference and event venue, but has nifty retractable seating that converts the space into an exhibition hall. It was packed with suppliers of biodegradable and bio-based resins and all manner of converted products.

Perhaps the highlight here was a piece of installation art, dubbed “Sustainability Resonator.” This was a collaborative project involving multidisciplinary artist Alex Long, Ingeo PLA biopolymer sponsor NatureWorks, bio-based TPU sponsor Wanhua Chemical, rPET sponsor BASF, Colorful-In ABS resin sponsor Kumho-Sunny, and 3D-printing filament sponsors eSUN, Polymaker, Raise3D, North Bridge, and Creality 3D, among others.