A 40-year historical review of the foundation stone of the new Chinese chemical fiber industry

In October 1990, the last year of the "Seventh Five-Year Plan", Yizheng Chemical Fiber Factory, the largest state-owned chemical fiber production base at that time, was fully completed and put into operation. In that year, China's chemical fiber output was 1.45 million tons, entering the forefront of the world.

New China's chemical fiber industry started from zero, with 40 years, for China's today's global leading chemical fiber industry cast a solid cornerstone, is the world's chemical fiber industry history miracle. How did such an achievement come about? Answering that question requires us to revisit this 40-year journey.

I. Review of major events in the construction and development of New China's chemical fiber industry

From 1949 to 1990, the new China's chemical fiber industry started from the restoration of the two man-made fiber factories left over from old China, and it took 15 years to independently establish the man-made fiber industry; Starting from the introduction of equipment, with more than 10 years, the establishment of coal-based Vinylon and chemical fiber machinery industry; Starting from the "2348 project", in 25 years, six state-owned petroleum chemical fiber production bases have been built, casting the cornerstone of new China's chemical fiber industry.

The 40-year history is divided into three major periods:

(1) The period of the creation of artificial fiber industry (1949-1965)

(1) The first state-owned chemical fiber enterprise in New China resumed production. Andong man-made Fiber Factory (Dandong Chemical Fiber Factory) was built in 1939 by the Japanese occupying the Northeast. During the liberation of Northeast China, the factory was severely damaged due to the war and could no longer produce. In 1948, the Northeast Textile Administration Bureau took over the factory and organized forces to resume production, and New China had the first state-owned chemical fiber enterprise. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 delayed its resumption. In the summer of 1956, the factory began to resume production again, and it was officially put into operation in just over a year.

(2) The first public-private joint chemical fiber enterprise began production. Shanghai Anle artificial Silk Factory was founded in 1937 by national capitalist Deng Zhonghe who bought second-hand equipment from France. The French merchants did not deliver key equipment due to the war, so the factory never produced before liberation. In 1950, the Ministry of Textile Industry funded a public-private joint venture with the factory and organized the resumption of production. In 1951, the factory spun the first bunch of rayon silk in New China, and exhibited at the Shanghai local production Exchange Conference. The Shanghai municipal health department refused to allow the plant to be produced in the urban area because of the environmental pollution caused by volatile gases, so construction was suspended in 1953. In 1956, the Shanghai health department agreed to resume production after the technical transformation, and the factory was officially put into operation on May 1, 1958.

The resumption of production of Dandong chemical fiber Factory and Shanghai Anle synthetic Silk Factory is the starting point of new China's chemical fiber industry.

(3) In September 1954, The State Council issued the "Order on the Planned Purchase and Supply of Cotton Cloth", and the state began to issue cloth tickets to the urban population at the standard of 16-20 feet per person per year.

(4) The Ministry of Textile Industry set up a chemical fiber industry preparatory group. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Chemical Industry was responsible for the construction of chemical fiber industry. However, chemical fiber ranks last among the 13 chemical industries, and its development is slower. In 1953, the Ministry of Textile Industry reported to the central government the idea of leading the development of chemical fiber industry, and in the autumn of 1954, the "Chemical fiber Industry preparatory Group of the Ministry of Textile Industry" was established. The preparatory team led the resumption of production of two man-made silk factories in Dandong and Shanghai and the construction of a number of man-made fiber factories.

(5) In 1954, East China Textile Institute set up the major of chemical fiber Technology. At the beginning of 1954, two professors, Qian Baojun and Fang Bairong, proposed the establishment of the chemical fiber major, and Chen Weizi, vice minister of the Ministry of Textile Industry in charge of education, attached great importance to it, and made every effort to promote the "chemical fiber technology" major of East China Textile Institute of Technology in the summer of that year. Vice Minister Chen Weiji studied printing and dyeing in the United Kingdom in his early years. As early as 1950, he proposed to build Shanghai Anle Rayon Silk Factory into a base for researching chemical fiber technology and training talents.

(6) Put forward the idea of artificial fiber industry development and the construction of Baoding chemical fiber factory. In 1956, the amount of artificial fibers in developed countries has accounted for more than 30% of the amount of textile fibers, and the proportion of China is very small. The Ministry of Textile Industry plans to introduce four large chemical fibre plants from the Soviet Union, including one nylon, two viscose staple fibres and one viscose filament, during the period of 2005, to lay the foundation for the development of the man-made fibre industry. But the Soviets weren't keen, so they let me import it from the GDR. In September 1956, China and Germany signed an order contract. In December of the same year, The State Council approved the construction plan of Baoding chemical fiber factory. Baoding Chemical fiber plant began construction in October 1957 and was completed and put into operation in July 1960.

(7) Adjustment and reform of chemical fiber industry management system. The State Council decided that the chemical fiber industry should be assigned to the Ministry of Chemical Industry, and the central enterprises should be decentralized to the localities. In June 1958, the Textile Ministry assigned the Baoding Chemical fiber plant to the Hebei Petrochemical Industry Bureau, and the Dandong Chemical fiber Plant to Liaoning Province. In May 1960, The State Council decided that the synthetic fiber industry and the man-made fiber industry were respectively responsible for the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Ministry of Textiles, and the Beijing Chemical fiber Experimental Plant was classified as the Ministry of Chemical Industry, and the Dandong Chemical fiber Plant and Baoding chemical fiber Plant were absorbed into the Textile Ministry.

(8) "natural fibers and chemical fibers at the same time" has become the construction policy of the textile raw material industry, and the man-made fiber industry has been vigorously developed. In July 1960, the Textile Department decided to independently develop a full set of production equipment and build a number of man-made fiber factories.  In September of the same year, the Party Central Committee approved the textile raw material industry construction guideline of "natural fibers and chemical fibers simultaneously" proposed by the textile Ministry, and called for "active development of artificial fibers." The Ministry of Textiles then organized a survey of the country's forestry and agricultural resources for the production of wood pulp; At the same time, the scientific research personnel of the backbone textile machinery factory were organized to digest and absorb the introduction of technical equipment and develop complete sets of viscose fiber production equipment. In March 1964, according to the requirements of the central government, the Ministry of Textiles, the Ministry of First Machinery, the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Chemical industry set up the artificial fiber Battle headquarters to promote the construction of the artificial fiber industry.

(9) In 1961, Beijing Textile Institute, founded in 1959, was renamed "Beijing Chemical Fiber Institute"; Since 1964, Chen Weiji, Vice minister of the Textile Department, has served as president.

(10) In December 1963, the Textile Ministry established the "Chemical Fiber Industry Administration".

(11) The first batch of man-made fiber factories built with domestic equipment were completed and put into operation. In 1960, the Textile Ministry decided to develop domestic equipment and build six man-made fiber factories, with Nanjing chemical fiber Factory as the focus of construction. China Textile Industry Design Institute is responsible for the overall design and production equipment development of these factories. In September 1961, the first batch of complete sets of artificial staple fiber production equipment independently developed was put into trial production in the chemical fiber branch of Shanghai First Cotton Textile Factory.

Qian Zhiguang, Minister of the Textile Ministry, was "the main founder of the modern textile industry in New China" and directly led the construction of the early chemical fiber industry. In 1964, before the Nanjing chemical fiber factory was put into operation, the 64-year-old minister Qian stayed in the factory for more than two months. On the night of the full line test, he watched the scene in the workshop, and after the success of the feeding, he praised the staff: You did a good job.

In five years, China has opened up the development road of self-reliant construction of artificial fiber industry. At the end of 1965, China's first batch of independently designed and constructed artificial fiber factories were completed, and the artificial fiber production capacity reached more than 50,000 tons. Since then, in order to develop the automobile industry, in 1965, the Textile Ministry began to build a new Shanghai second chemical fiber factory and Hubei chemical fiber factory and other strong artificial fiber curtain fabric project. Hubei Chemical Fiber Factory has adopted a new generation of domestic complete sets of technical equipment, and the performance of the man-made fiber strong cord produced has reached the international standard at that time, so that the construction level of China's man-made fiber industry has achieved a new leap.

Independent construction of artificial fiber industry, new China's chemical fiber industry construction has taken the first step.

(2) The founding period of the coal-based Vinylon and chemical fiber machinery industry (1962-1975)

Since the conditions for the development of petroleum chemical fiber were not available at that time, the organic synthetic chemical fiber industry in New China started from the construction of coal-based Vinylon industry.

(1) Introduction of Vinylon technology and equipment. In 1961, the Textile Department formed the idea of creating a coal-based Vinylon industry. In December 1962, the central government approved the introduction of 10,000 tons of vinylon and polyvinyl alcohol complete sets of technical equipment from Japan, and the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Ministry of Textile were responsible for the construction of the Beijing organic chemical plant for the production of polyvinyl alcohol and the Beijing Vinylon plant for the production of fiber. This is the first time for New China to import complete sets of technical equipment from a capitalist country that has never established diplomatic relations. Beijing Vinylon Plant was put into operation in September 1965. 

(2) According to the decision of the central Government, on July 10, 1970, the former Ministry of Textile Industry, the first Ministry of Light Industry and the second Ministry of Light Industry were merged into the Ministry of Light Industry, with Qian Zhiguang as the minister.

(3) Establish the first chemical fiber machinery factory. In November 1968, China's first chemical fiber machinery factory - state-owned Shaoyang second textile machinery Factory began construction. Thus, textile machinery industry and chemical fiber industry jointly opened up the new China's chemical fiber machinery industry.

(4) The use of self-developed production equipment to build nine Vinylon plants. In 1971, the state decided to focus on the development of synthetic fiber industry, in Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces to build 8 10,000-ton class, in Shijiazhuang to build a 5,000-ton class of 9 plants, that year began construction. Jiangxi Vinylon Plant was put into operation in 1974, Fujian Vinylon plant and Shijiazhuang Vinylon plant were put into operation in 1975; The production of the three plants is normal, and the product quality is stable, indicating that the complete sets of domestic Vinylon production equipment are basically passed.

(3) The founding period of the petroleum chemical fiber industry (1965-1990)

(1) The first introduction of petroleum chemical fiber technology equipment. In April 1965, the state approved the introduction of a production plant with an annual output of 8,000 tons of acrylic fiber and 3,386 tons of polypropylene fiber each from the United Kingdom, which was put into production in 1969 and 1970, respectively.

(2) Independently establish the first large-scale state-owned petroleum chemical fiber production base - "2348 project". The project is in the mountains of northern Hunan, the construction of a set of crude oil refining, chemical fiber manufacturing and fabric weaving as one of the three-line factory, to ensure that the People's Liberation Army "a red star on the head, the revolutionary red flag hanging on both sides" of the new Type 65 uniform cloth supply. The project began planning in 1965, started in April 1969, and was completed and put into operation in May 1971. In September 1969, with the approval of the Central Government, the "2348th Engineering Headquarters of the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" was established. The project can refine 2.5 million tons of crude oil per year, produce 150,000 tons of more than 20 kinds of chemical raw materials, produce 5,000 tons of polyester, 5,000 tons of nylon, 10,000 tons of acrylic fiber, and weave 40 million meters of military clothing cloth, which can make two sets of military uniforms per person.

(3) The introduction of complete sets of technical equipment to build four large petroleum chemical fiber production bases - "four chemical fibers". In March 1973, in order to strengthen agriculture, light industry and basic industry, the central government approved the "43rd Plan", which used US $4.3 billion to introduce 26 complete sets of technical equipment projects. The "Four chemical fiber" project is one of the four chemical fiber projects.

Decision background. The total investment of the "four chemical fibers" is 7 billion yuan, equivalent to the sum of the national investment in the textile industry in the 22 years from 1949 to 1972. 

 This made him quickly realize how much the public loved the "Dacron" clothing. On the way to the South in July and August 1971, a staff member reported that he waited in line for half a day on the weekend to buy a pair of "Dacron" pants.  Premier Zhou said, we do not have the technology, can not produce.  Premier Zhou said, of course.

 Premier Zhou has been planning how to break through the long-term shortage of textile raw materials, difficult to meet the needs of the people's clothing dilemma. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, textile raw materials relied on cotton for a long time, but grain and cotton competed for land, and cotton was in short supply for a long time. For productive cotton, from 1962 to 1979, The State Council held a national cotton work conference every year, presided over by Premier Zhou personally, to formulate policies and measures to encourage productive cotton. Even so, China's cotton production has been maintained at about 40 million tons for a long time, far from the needs of the textile industry and people's clothing needs. In July and August 1970, at a meeting shortly after the establishment of the Ministry of Light Industry, Premier Zhou clearly put forward: "The national focus on light industry, light industry focus on textile, textile focus on chemical fiber."

Premier Zhou personally worked out the history of the "four three plan" after the founding of the second large-scale technical equipment introduction plan. He instructed that projects that could solve major problems must be introduced. Because of this, as the core project in the "four three plan", the construction of the "four chemical fiber" project has greatly improved the overall level of China's chemical fiber industry, and initially solved the problem of people's dressing.

Organization and leadership. From 1949 to 1972, the state invested a total of 7.325 billion yuan in the textile industry, mainly for the construction of cotton spinning industry. The total investment of 7 billion yuan in the "four chemical fibers" is mainly used in petrochemical plants.

In February 1973, the Ministry of Light Industry set up a complete set of equipment import office known as the "small textile Department", responsible for the "four chemical fiber" project of foreign negotiations, planning, infrastructure and production preparation, Vice Minister Jiao Shanmin served as director. From 1958 to 1964, Vice Minister Jiao served as the secretary in charge of industry in the Secretariat of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee, during which he was familiar with Comrade Lin Hua, the pioneer of China's petrochemical industry, who was the deputy manager and chief engineer of Lanzhou Chemical Industry Company. Lin Hua proposed in 1961 that technology and equipment should be introduced to transform coal and grain chemical industry into petroleum chemical industry as soon as possible. In 1962, Premier Zhou listened to Lin Hua's report and approved the introduction of 12 sets of petrochemical chemical fiber equipment; The acrylic fiber plant with an annual capacity of 8,000 tons is one of them; As a result, Lanhua has become the first petrochemical base in China. Jiao transferred Lin Hua as deputy director of the Import Office at the beginning of 1974 and took over as director in 1975 to focus on the construction of "four chemical fibers". Lin Hua also brought 10 Lanhua technicians to provide important technical guarantees for the construction of the "four chemical fibers" with petrochemical equipment as the main body.