What happened
The 29th China International Composite Materials Industry Technology Exhibition ran Sept. 1-3 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, drawing 977 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions across 76,000 square meters. Exhibitors placed greater emphasis on end-use scenarios and niche high-tech applications than in previous years.
Companies including Hengshen, Jinggong Technology, Zhongjian Technology, Polyrocks, Swancor, and Zhongfu Shenying presented composites for eVTOLs, satellites, humanoid robots, and low-altitude aircraft. Products ranged from high-modulus carbon fiber and preforms to LCP materials for robot tendon ropes and carbon-fiber-bodied robots.
Despite the innovation push, industry representatives said commercialization in emerging fields such as humanoid robots and commercial space still faces long testing cycles and unresolved cost problems, with many products only at the initial sample-verification stage.
Why it matters
The show signals that composite materials are moving beyond traditional markets like sports gear and wind turbine blades into fast-growing areas such as aerospace, low-altitude economy, automotive, and robotics. Yet the industry's next bottleneck is proving reliability and cutting costs enough for mass adoption.
Industry data announced at the exhibition show China's composites output value reached 313 billion yuan in 2025, about 38% of the global total, with output exceeding 8 million tons. Still, the sector faces insufficient high-end supply and reliance on imported key equipment, so the value-chain upgrade is far from complete.
Key facts
The 29th China International Composites Industry Technology Exhibition was held Sept. 1-3 at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center, covering 76,000 square meters with 977 enterprises from 17 countries and regions.
Hengshen displayed domestic M65J and M60J grade PAN-based ultra-high-modulus carbon fiber for satellite and high-altitude aircraft structures; Zhongfu Shenying showed a robot whose body is mostly carbon fiber except for metal connectors.
Zhao Junshan, president of the China Composite Materials Industry Association, said 2025 industry output reached 313 billion yuan (38% of the world), output exceeded 8 million tons, and domestic T1200-grade high-performance carbon fiber achieved a technical breakthrough.
What to watch next
Whether companies can reduce manufacturing costs and accelerate extended validation cycles to move humanoid-robot and commercial-aerospace applications from sample delivery to volume orders.
How the industry follows the three proposed development directions of innovation-driven self-reliance, green low-carbon transformation, and open cooperation to advance toward the mid-to-high end of the value chain.