On April 15, Mingguang, Anhui Province—a county-level city—hosted, for the first time, the highest-profile and largest annual event in China’s coatings industry.

“Break the Impasse and Seek Change, Innovate with Intelligence for the Future” —These eight characters set the tone for the China Coatings Industry Association in 2026.

With more than a thousand delegates in attendance—including academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, representatives from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other high-profile figures—the lineup is among the most impressive in recent years. Yet what truly warrants attention is not who is present, but rather the three key signals being sent at the conference.

Signal 1: The green transition has entered “countdown mode.”

The most alarming piece of information at the conference wasn’t a memorable quote from any guest speaker, but rather a specific timeline:

On June 1, 2026, GB 30981.2-2025 “Limit on Harmful Substances in Coatings – Part 2: Industrial Coatings” will be officially implemented.

What does this mean?

The current GB 30981-2020 will be repealed on that date. VOC limits, heavy metals, and benzene-series compounds—numerous indicators have been comprehensively tightened. Nippon Paint has already taken the lead in announcing that its spray-paint products have achieved compliance ahead of schedule, with “no detectable levels” of lead, benzene, and dichloromethane.

Meanwhile, according to industry reports, the market share of waterborne industrial coatings is growing at an annual rate of over 15%. By 2025, the size of China’s industrial coatings market had surpassed RMB 120 billion, with green and environmentally friendly practices emerging as the top of the industry’s four core trends.

At the conference, attendees reached a clear consensus: the industry must “steadfastly pursue a new path of high-quality development driven by green innovation.”

For coatings companies, the window of opportunity for shifting from solvent-based to waterborne formulations is rapidly closing. The question is no longer whether to make the transition, but rather when the transition can be fully completed.

Signal No. 2: “Anti-Involution Declaration”—The Industry Is Rejecting Low-Quality Competition

There was a ceremony at the conference venue that is easy to overlook but profoundly meaningful: “Anti-Involution Declaration” Issued in the Coatings Industry 。

What is the true nature of so-called “involution” in the coatings industry?

A senior executive at a coatings company put it bluntly in private: “We keep slashing our quotes again and again, squeezing margins down to the bone—so thin they’re practically scraping the floor—and in the end, the only way to eke out any profit is to cut costs by tinkering with the formulation.”

This is related to Holy Hong was previously on the official account. The consensus reached in our discussions is clear: during this wave of price hikes, it’s not the high-priced suppliers who are weeded out—but rather the low-priced ones that can’t withstand the pressure. Companies that “subtract” from their formulations ultimately get squeezed out of the market, not because they’re not cheap enough, but because they lack reliability.

The “Anti-Involution Declaration” released concurrently with the conference further cemented this consensus across the industry: the development model must shift from “volume at the expense of price” to “quality-driven success.”

In his address, Liu Jie, Secretary-General of the China Coatings Industry Association, stated bluntly that the industry is currently confronting multiple challenges: rising green and low-carbon requirements, mounting pressure to drive technological innovation, and increasingly fierce market competition. With shrinking production and sales volumes and the need to break through in profitability, the entire industry is undergoing the painful transformation of “reducing quantity while enhancing quality.”

Only those who can uphold the bottom line of quality amid the pain of transformation will emerge in a stronger position after the industry reshuffle.

Signal Three: The window for domestic substitution of industrial coatings has now opened.

At the conference, “domestication of key areas in industrial coatings” emerged as a frequently recurring theme. This is no mere slogan: judging from the messages conveyed at the event, leading companies are ramping up R&D investment in sectors such as automotive, marine, and high-end equipment, with many publicly committing to “break through critical core technologies and enhance market share and competitiveness in high-end segments.”

Meanwhile, the release of the “Top 100 Index” companies also signals a growing trend: industry concentration is increasing, with resources increasingly gravitating toward firms that excel in technology, quality, and scale.

What does this mean for Party A’s procurement?

Domestic industrial coatings brands are rapidly closing the gap with international giants. In many niche segments, the performance of domestic brands is now fully capable of replacing imported products—while offering faster delivery, more flexible service, and superior cost-effectiveness.

This window of opportunity won’t stay open forever. But right now, it has indeed arrived.

A “Self-Inspection and Comparison” by a Northeastern Coatings Company

Finally, a few thoughts of our own.

As the only intelligent, green, and high-end integrated industrial coatings enterprise in Northeast China, Holy Hong When following this conference, the primary focus is on comparing: Are the initiatives we’re currently pursuing aligned with industry trends?

The conclusion is: the direction is aligned, but there is still considerable room for growth.

The new factory of Holy Hong Pine Island will begin trial operations in June this year, built in line with the new national standards and the industry’s green transformation direction. From production line design to product system, everything is focused on the two key words: “intelligentization” and “environmental compliance.”

We are also continuously advancing the implementation of our MES system, transforming the production process from being “experience-driven” to “data-driven.”

But what I’d really like to say is: The future of the coatings industry hinges not on what is said at conferences, but on what is accomplished in the production workshop.

The conference has come to a close, but the story of “breaking the deadlock and seeking change” is only just beginning.

If you work in the coatings industry or serve as a procurement manager, it may be worthwhile to pay attention to three key time points:

• June 1 : New National Standard for Industrial Coatings Now in Effect—Has Your Supplier Met the Requirements?
• July 8–10 : The 2026 China International Coatings Expo will be held in Shanghai—come and see what the industry leaders are up to!
• During the 15th Five-Year Plan period Green transformation and intelligent manufacturing will become “must-answer questions” for every enterprise.

The change has already taken place. The only question is: Are you ready?

Holy Hong · Industrial Coatings
Dedicated to corrosion protection, committed to quality coatings.