Official Chinese statistics regarding various industrial sectors in 2010 reveal that the People's Republic of China has ousted Japan from second place in world rankings, threatening US supremacy.
In 2010, China (which has long been a significant importer) recorded significant increases in plastics production, as confirmed by the China National Development Commission.  In detail, local PVC production grew by 11.3% over 2009 levels, achieving a total amount of 20.4 million tons. PP production also grew by 13.5% with respect to one year ago. This increase in production was obviously paralleled by drops in imports, with PP and PVC declining by 7.1 % and 22.7% respectively.