China is the world's largest chemical market, accounting for half of the global chemical market growth. With the enhancement of the competitiveness of Chinese local chemical companies, the advantage of multinational chemical companies in China has been weakening for 20 years.

Chinese local enterprises are increasingly taking advantage of their own advantages, understanding the preferences of Chinese customers, developing products and solutions suitable for the domestic market, and developing products and solutions at more competitive prices, because they can obtain affordable engineering talents.

Multinationals used to be a favorite destination for local top talent. But these valuable executives are increasingly choosing to work for Chinese companies that they see as more opportunities. Chinese enterprises are also making better use of China's large and advanced e-commerce ecosystem, as they are familiar with the Chinese market and its participants.

In order to remain competitive in China and compete with Chinese chemical companies when entering the international market, MNCs must regain their foothold in these and other important competitive areas.

China is the world's largest chemical market with an annual growth rate of 4% - 5%, compared with an annual growth rate of about 3% in the rest of the world (see Figure 1). China's contribution to the global market is huge, and about half of the global growth of the industry takes place in China. Despite the adverse factors such as trade friction and economic growth slowdown in the medium term, China's sustained urbanization and the rise of the middle class are expected to increase the long-term demand for specialty chemicals and bulk commodities.

For executives of multinational chemical companies, the Chinese market represents a huge opportunity. But few of these executives will say they are making the most of the market's potential. Although China's chemical industry has been open to foreign investment, the industry is undergoing rapid changes, which may make it increasingly challenging for multinational companies to gain and maintain a winning position in the market. As a favorite destination for top engineering and business talent, local attackers are challenging global chemical companies. Innovative local enterprises are developing competitive technologies and high-quality products to meet the needs of the Chinese market. Digital business platforms are becoming the main channel for sales transactions, replacing sales teams and providing competitive advantages for local companies that are more suitable for these platforms. To sum up, these changes have enabled Chinese private chemical producers to surpass their international competitors in China.

Other transformations have also made it more difficult for international chemical companies to develop their business in China, including the transformation from an investment oriented economy to a consumer economy, the strengthening of environmental protection policies to increase costs, and the new laws on network security and intellectual property protection. International chemical manufacturers are facing more and more of these competitors, not only in China: China's chemical companies are beginning to enter the international market. The experience of competing with Chinese enterprises at home may help MNCs compete with Chinese enterprises in the local market.