As of the end of 2022, China has added 5.65 million tons of ethylene per year, with a total ethylene production capacity of 49.33 million tons per year. As of the end of 2022, the United States has added three ethylene plants with a new scale of 4.3 million tons per year, and the ethylene production capacity in the United States is 44.82 million tons per year. It can be seen that China's ethylene production capacity has surpassed that of the United States, becoming the world's largest ethylene producing country.

As of the end of 2022, the United States has added three new ethylene plants, namely, the American company BayportPolymers has added a 1 million ton ethane to ethylene plant in Port Arthur, belonging to a joint venture between Total/Nova Chemical/Nordic Chemical. Shell USA has added a 1.5 million ton ethane unit in Pennsylvania, including 1.5 million ton ethylene and 1.6 million ton polyethylene units. In addition, Gulf Coast Growth in the United States has added 1.8 million tons of ethane plant in Port Arthur, a joint venture between Mobil and Sabik.

Ethylene is known as the key indicator that determines the production level of the chemical industry. The production scale of ethylene determines the production scale of propylene, butadiene, and related aromatic products. In addition, the scale of ethylene determines the scale of basic chemical raw materials and also restricts the extension of downstream products in the chemical industry chain. It can be said that ethylene has a significant impact on 80% or more of China's chemical production and industrial chain extension.

For China, the growth of its ethylene production capacity is the main driving force behind the overall production capacity growth in Northeast Asia. Entering the 21st century, China's ethylene production capacity has two rounds of concentrated investment periods: 2005-2006 and 2009-2010, mainly due to the expansion of three barrel oil refineries due to domestic demand growth. From 1999 to 2008, China's ethylene production capacity increased from 4.35 million tons to 9.985 million tons per year. By the end of 2009, the country's ethylene production capacity had surpassed the 10 million ton mark for the first time, reaching 11.778 million tons per year, firmly ranking second in the world.

Since 2011, due to the sustained high oil prices and the loss of control over crude oil, China's consideration of energy security has been increasing. Starting from 2011, China has seen numerous ethylene production using coal and methanol as raw materials, opening a chapter of diversified ethylene production and supply in China.

In 2010, the 600000 ton/year coal to ethylene project of Inner Mongolia Shenhua Baotou Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., China's first coal to ethylene plant, was put into commercial operation, marking the industrial application of coal based methanol to olefin technology in China. In 2011, China's first 200000 ton/year methanol to ethylene project (Zhongyuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd.) was put into operation, and 2014-2016 was the peak period for the production of coal to olefin projects in China.

As of the end of 2022, China's coal to olefin production capacity exceeded 11 million tons/year, becoming the world's largest producer of coal based olefins.

In the next 5 years, despite the timely production of ethylene projects in China and the United States, China will still be the world's largest ethylene production country, and the gap between the United States and China in terms of scale will continue to widen.