Chinaplas 2027 sets focus on smart and circular industry

Chinaplas 2027 will be held under the theme "Advancing a Smarter, Circular Future - As One", with intelligent innovation, green upgrading and stronger supply chain resilience positioned as its core areas. The exhibition will take place at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao'an, China, on 13-16 April 2027. Its area is expected to reach 390,000 sqm, with more than 4,700 international exhibitors. The organisers also expect over 300,000 professional visitors from around the world. The event will address the plastics and rubber value chain, covering raw materials, machinery and equipment, innovative technology products and downstream applications. Its programme is intended to support technology exchange, supply-demand matching and cooperation across regions, while examining the impact of circularity, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and supply chain restructuring on manufacturing.

Held alternately in Shenzhen in odd-numbered years and Shanghai in even-numbered years, Chinaplas is returning to Shenzhen with an expanded focus on emerging sectors and new application areas. The event is rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while seeking to connect industrial-chain resources across Asia and other global markets. The organisers identify six defining trends for the exhibition: green development, intelligence, high-end advancement, functionality, integration and globalisation.

Industry transformation and new application areas

The exhibition concept reflects changes affecting global manufacturing. Competition increasingly encompasses environmental sustainability, circularity, technological capabilities, operational efficiency and supply chain resilience. Artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in industrial processes including injection moulding, extrusion, inspection, packaging and materials research and development. According to the organisers, these applications are influencing efficiency, quality and cost, while supporting innovation in green and low-carbon technologies.

The stability and security of industrial and supply chains will also form part of the event's scope. Chinaplas 2027 is expected to bring together companies and technology experts from across the plastics and rubber industries to present developments in intelligent manufacturing, advanced materials, the circular economy and low-carbon technologies. The event will link upstream and downstream organisations to discuss technology pathways, application scenarios and market trends.

The show's expanded sectoral focus will include embodied intelligence, the low-altitude economy, AI data centres and semiconductors. These areas will be addressed alongside established application industries such as automotive, packaging, electrical and electronics, construction and infrastructure, and medical and healthcare. The stated objective is to enable plastics and rubber technologies to be tested in application scenarios and transferred into commercial and industrial use.

Shenzhen as a technology deployment hub

Shenzhen's strategic emerging industries provide a setting for the validation and deployment of new materials and manufacturing technologies. In 2025, the added value of the city's low-altitude economy and aerospace industry cluster reached RMB 35.06 billion, an increase of 31% year on year. Shenzhen's robotics sector includes more than 91,000 companies, the highest number in China, with businesses including UBTECH, Honor and Leju Robotics.

The city's integrated-circuit industry recorded sales revenue of RMB 361.04 billion in 2025, up 27.1% year on year. The organisers see Shenzhen's end-product manufacturing base and technology ecosystem as a proving ground where new products and materials can undergo commercial validation and move more rapidly towards market adoption and larger-scale use.

Chinaplas 2027 therefore intends to place greater emphasis on scenario-based validation and practical deployment, rather than limiting its scope to the presentation of exhibits. Cross-sector integration is expected to broaden the application range of plastics and rubber technologies and connect material and processing developments with demand from growth industries.

APEC context and international cooperation

The event will also draw on the context of the 2026 APEC "China Year". The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled to be held in Shenzhen in November 2026 under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together", with openness, innovation and cooperation identified as priorities. Chinaplas 2027 aims to use this context to strengthen links across Asia-Pacific and global industrial chains.

Face-to-face meetings between upstream and downstream companies are intended to support direct discussion of technologies, applications and industry trends. According to the organisers, such interaction can accelerate the transfer of technology from laboratories to production lines, while supporting long-term cooperation and trust between supply-chain partners.

Demand for exhibition space is already reported to be high. In addition to exhibitors and technology presentations, the event will include concurrent activities and on-site services for professionals from the global plastics and rubber industries.