Hz info, Shanghai – A tale of two realities unfolded at CHINACOAT 2025, the China International Coatings Show held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. While exhibition halls buzzed with crowds and lively inquiries, the industry's latest financial reports painted a picture of muted market demand. This stark contrast formed the most thought-provoking backdrop of this year's event.

The concept of "balance" emerged as the central theme for understanding the exhibition's dynamics. This was not merely a balance between surface-level excitement and underlying caution, but a multifaceted equilibrium reflective of an industry in transition. The active investment from upstream suppliers versus temporary softness in downstream demand, short-term profit pressures versus long-term technological preparedness, global ambitions versus local deep cultivation —these seemingly opposing forces collided and counterbalanced, collectively sketching a vivid picture of an industry seeking certainty amidst uncertainty. This balance is not a static compromise, but a dynamic, proactive strategy—the industry's chosen path for steady navigation through waves of change.

Balancing Scale and Demand

As the largest international coatings exhibition to date, covering over 120,000 square meters, it gathered more than 1,760 exhibitors from 31 countries and regions, showcasing the industry's most competitive products, technologies, and services. The halls were packed, the atmosphere for exchange was enthusiastic, and a significant influx of overseas visitors contributed to the vibrant on-site response.

The drivers behind this spectacle warrant a closer look. Despite a challenging market environment, the record number of exhibitors precisely reflects strategic choices made during this transitional phase. On the one hand, against a backdrop of overcapacity and intensifying homogenized competition, companies feel a greater need to demonstrate technical prowess, build brand recognition, and expand their client base through participation. On the other hand, with accelerating technological iteration, maintaining close contact with the market is essential to grasp the latest demand shifts and technical trends through face-to-face dialog.

The notable increase in overseas visitors highlights profound shifts in the global coatings landscape. The completeness and responsiveness of China's supply chain are demonstrating unique advantages on the international stage, attracting a growing number of global buyers seeking cooperation. Concurrently, technological breakthroughs by Chinese companies in niche areas like high-performance resins and eco-friendly additives have become another key draw for specialized international audiences, who are looking to China for differentiated solutions to tackle competitive pressures in their home markets.

This stands in sharp contrast to the severe challenges facing the global coatings market. Industry analyzes point to significant impacts on global supply chains from unexpected US import tariff hikes, leading to a sharp decline in US-bound exports. Severe oversupply in the Asia-Pacific region has triggered substantial drops in global product prices. The fervor inside the exhibition halls versus the chill in the external market constitutes the first layer of meaningful balance.

This equilibrium aptly demonstrates the industry's self-regulating capacity: during a market downturn, companies have an even greater need for high-frequency industry interaction to find breakthroughs and engage in intensive technical dialog to explore new directions. The exhibition has thus transformed from a stage for showcasing strength into a platform for collectively overcoming challenges and planning for future development.

Balancing Dialog and Market Realities

Numerous technical exchange events attracted active participant engagement, further promoting industry interaction and knowledge sharing. In the equipment section, the consultation areas of many companies were fully occupied, with a steady stream of professional visitors. High-end equipment such as inline dispersers, basket mills, and pin-type sand mills drew significant attention.

Exhibition booths of some specialized equipment suppliers were similarly "consistently bustling," attracting technical representatives from Southeast Asia, Europe, and domestic coating companies for in-depth discussions on grinding processes and integrated production line solutions.

This high frequency of technical exchange starkly contrasted with the sluggish market demand.

The heat of these exchanges was evident in the specific concerns raised by clients on-site: feedback from coatings engineers pointed directly to a core industry pain point—the key to producing high-end coatings lies in securing core raw materials that meet performance standards and offer batch-to-batch consistency.

Balancing Short-Term Profit and Long-Term Sustainability

The concepts of "green," "low-carbon," and "environmental protection" permeated every corner of the exhibition. Several major chemical enterprises, under themes like "Innovative Coatings, Inspiring Sustainability," launched comprehensive ranges of raw material and application solutions.

Some multinational chemical companies announced they had "shipped their final batches of products containing PFAS," positioning themselves as industry pioneers taking the lead in saying 'no' to PFAS.

Other specialty chemical companies showcased series of micronized yellow iron oxide pigments produced using renewable energy, with significantly reduced carbon footprints compared to traditional products.

New trends toward specialization were apparent: numerous resin suppliers introduced high-performance resin solutions tailored for specific applications like steel structure anticorrosion, automotive, plastics, electronics, containers, marine, and wind power, providing clear guidance for various coating manufacturers. Elsewhere, several emulsion suppliers meticulously created themed exhibition areas covering exterior wall stone-like paint solutions, interior wall artistic paint solutions, and more, offering immersive experiences for visitors.

Balancing Globalization and Localization

A notable point of balance at this year's show was the significant increase in overseas exhibitors and professional visitors, which aligned with the systematic and standardized use of bilingual Chinese-English displays by Chinese exhibitors. This created a subtle equilibrium between "bringing in" and "going out" in the globalization of China's coatings industry chain.

Walking through the halls, one immediate observation was the noticeable increase in international attendees. Numerous overseas visitors made special trips, actively participating in on-site exchanges. This enhanced international element infused the exhibition with broader perspectives and business opportunities.

Simultaneously, a global presentation stance became the new normal for Chinese exhibitors. Whether industry leaders or specialized equipment suppliers, their booth designs, product brochures, and technical documentation were almost universally bilingual. This was not merely a formalistic decoration but a practical manifestation of their global strategy—proactively removing information barriers for international clients and demonstrating both the willingness and preparedness to connect with global markets.

To help companies navigate the complex international trade environment, the exhibition forum specifically featured sessions on Southeast Asian markets, focusing on the prospects, challenges, and directions for the paints and coatings markets in Thailand and Vietnam. A consultant from the Thailand Paint Manufacturers Association shared insights on the current situation and future trends in the Thai market in a presentation titled "Thailand Paint and Coatings Market Overview – Review and Outlook."

Within the exhibition halls, there was a marked increase in platform service providers helping companies expand foreign trade business, patiently guiding Chinese suppliers on how to engage effectively in global commerce using internet-based methods.

Balancing Technical Pathways

At the product technology level, striking a balance between compatibility and specificity was a key focus for many exhibitors. Several equipment suppliers showcased fully system-compatible solutions, utilizing modular design and intelligent selection logic to achieve flexible production lines capable of multiple uses on a single line.

Raw material enterprises highlighted breakthrough progress in core materials like high-performance coating resins. These innovative materials demonstrated significant improvements in specialized properties such as high-temperature resistance, robust corrosion protection, and extreme durability, while maintaining good compatibility with existing production processes. Examples included specialty resins for new energy vehicle battery pack protection that maintain stability under extreme temperatures, and heavy-duty anticorrosion resins for wind power equipment, whose salt spray resistance performance broke through traditional technical bottlenecks.

In new material R&D, several innovative tech companies centrally presented a range of cutting-edge innovative materials and customized solutions. A domestic database platform made its debut, showcasing its core product which utilizes intelligent data matching and a professional knowledge base to help coatings engineers find the right materials more efficiently, significantly shortening R&D cycles, and introducing a novel R&D acceleration model to the coatings industry.

This balancing of technical pathways reflects both a precise grasp of current market needs and a forward-looking layout for future application scenarios. Finding the optimal balance between generalization and specialization is key to driving sustained innovation in the coatings industry.

As the crowds gradually dispersed, CHINACOAT 2025 stood as a masterclass in delicate equilibrium: the fervent exchange between upstream industry players and subdued downstream demand, short-term profit pressures versus long-term sustainable development, global vision paired with local practice, and the active interplay between overseas businesses "coming in" and Chinese enterprises "going out."

These seemingly opposing factors met, clashed, and blended at this Asia-Pacific coatings flagship event, collectively searching for a more balanced development path for the industry's future.