By 2025, the domestic 3D printing industry will reach a scale of 70 billion! A comprehensive summary of the achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan and a展望 for the 15th Five-Year Plan.
2026-02-03
At the “2025 Additive Manufacturing Industry Development Forum & Annual Conference,” key industry data were officially released: In 2024, the domestic 3D printing industry market size reached 53 billion yuan, and is projected to exceed 70 billion yuan in 2025, representing an annual growth rate of approximately 30%. By 2030, the industry’s output value is targeted at 150 billion yuan—double the current level. Li Fangzheng, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Additive Manufacturing Industry Alliance, provided a comprehensive analysis of the industry’s development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s 3D printing industry achieved leapfrog development across four key dimensions: scale, technology, applications, and ecosystem. China now ranks first globally in consumer-grade equipment production and has maintained its position as the world’s second-largest industrial player for five consecutive years. At the same time, the industry faces challenges such as shortcomings in core technologies and an incomplete ecosystem. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the industry will focus on achieving the goal of “leading globally and ensuring full self-reliance and controllability,” thereby driving the industry toward high-quality development.
One, Industry Overview: Rapidly expanding in scale and rising to the global forefront.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has achieved leapfrog development. The market size, industrial standing, and export capabilities have all seen significant improvements, making China the world’s most dynamic and promising additive manufacturing market, with a wealth of remarkable core data highlights.
1. Market Size: Continuously on the rise, aiming for 70 billion by 2025.
Data disclosed by the forum show that China’s 3D printing industry is experiencing steady and rapid growth: in 2024, the market size has successfully surpassed 53 billion yuan, representing a substantial increase over the previous year. It is projected to reach 70 billion yuan in 2025, with a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 30%, indicating strong momentum. Looking ahead, the industry’s growth trajectory will shift from sheer scale expansion to structural optimization, and from policy-driven development to market-driven forces. The goal is to double the industry’s output value again by 2030, exceeding 150 billion yuan and achieving a milestone leap toward high-quality industrial development. Notably, in 2025, financing activity in the industry has surged significantly, with the number of funding deals nearly tripling compared to the previous year—approaching 100 deals—and a growing consensus is emerging within the capital markets that additive manufacturing is at an inflection point for industrialization.
2. Industry Position: Globally Leading, with the Fastest Growth Rate in Advanced Manufacturing
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has continued to rise in prominence. Production of consumer-grade equipment has surged to rank first globally, and the industry’s overall size has remained steadily second worldwide for five consecutive years, trailing only the United States. China has now become a key growth engine for the global additive manufacturing industry.
On the export front, data from the General Administration of Customs show that in the first 11 months of 2025, China’s total exports of 3D printing equipment reached 4.48 million units, far exceeding the 3.78 million units exported for the entire year of 2024. The rapid growth in exports underscores the competitiveness of China’s 3D printing equipment in the global market. In terms of domestic growth, in the first half of 2025, the 3D printing industry posted a growth rate of 43.1%, significantly outpacing other popular advanced manufacturing sectors such as new-energy vehicles and industrial robots, thus emerging as a new driving force behind the growth of the manufacturing sector.
3. Corporate Landscape: The main players are growing stronger, creating a vibrant and diverse ecosystem.
Li Fangzheng pointed out that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has shown distinct characteristics: “a significant leap in scale, a stronger core of market players, and an increasingly mature industrial ecosystem.” As of 2025, the number of domestic enterprises whose primary business is additive manufacturing has exceeded 2,000, among which approximately 250 are large-scale enterprises. Of these, 25 are listed companies, including those on the New Third Board. The number of national-level specialized, sophisticated, and new “Little Giant” enterprises has grown to over 60. This has led to the formation of a comprehensive enterprise cluster covering the entire value chain—from materials and equipment to software, applications, and services—and the industrial ecosystem is becoming increasingly robust, fostering a healthy development pattern characterized by diverse and thriving enterprises.
4. Regional Layout: Collaborate synergistically, each with its own focus to develop distinctive features.
The regional layout of China’s additive manufacturing industry is characterized by coordinated development and distinctive features. Each region leverages its own strengths to achieve precise positioning and promote differentiated industrial growth: The Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta focus on technology R&D and equipment manufacturing, forming a complete industrial chain that spans from materials and components to equipment itself. By 2025, the Yangtze River Delta accounted for 47.4% of the total number of high-quality additive manufacturing products listed nationwide. The Shaanxi and Sichuan-Chongqing regions are concentrating on metal additive manufacturing, deeply expanding into high-end application fields such as aerospace and healthcare. Meanwhile, regions like Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangsu are deepening demonstration applications through policy innovations, helping 3D printing technology transition from the laboratory to actual production and accelerating the industry’s practical implementation and effectiveness.
5. Brand Globalization: Local Rise, Accelerated Global Expansion
Notably, Chinese additive manufacturing enterprises have continuously enhanced their competitiveness in the global market. Consumer-grade 3D printing equipment has already taken a dominant position worldwide, and industrial-grade equipment is gradually breaking foreign monopolies, steadily strengthening China’s international competitiveness. Leading domestic companies such as Polytex, Creality 3D, HuaShu High-Tech, Liantai Technology, and Topcadd are accelerating their overseas expansion strategies, actively tapping into global markets, and building supply chains and service networks that span the globe. This is driving China’s 3D printing technologies and products onto the world stage, thereby enhancing China’s influence and voice in the global additive manufacturing sector.
Second, the core achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan: collaborative breakthroughs in technology, applications, and ecosystem development.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has achieved leapfrog development, attaining historic milestones in three key areas: technological innovation, application expansion, and ecosystem enhancement. This has enabled synergistic advancement across technology, applications, and the ecosystem, with core indicators now reaching internationally advanced levels.
Achievement 1: Continuous enhancement of technological innovation capabilities, with breakthroughs achieved across the entire value chain.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has broken through a series of core technological bottlenecks, achieving an all-chain industrial upgrade encompassing equipment and processes, materials, core components, and process software. This has fundamentally transformed the previous passive situation of relying on imports for core technologies and is gradually enabling domestically produced, independently controllable solutions.
In terms of equipment and technology, China’s light-curing 3D printing technology has achieved global leadership. Laser sintering and laser melting technologies have reached an internationally competitive level, and large-format manufacturing equipment has also attained international leadership, enabling it to meet the manufacturing demands for large, complex components in fields such as aerospace and automotive.
In terms of materials, China’s self-sufficiency rate for metal powder materials has exceeded 95%, and the performance of high-end powders such as aluminum-silicon-magnesium alloy powder has reached internationally leading levels. However, a few high-performance specialty materials—such as high-temperature alloys and special polymers—still need to be imported. These remaining 5% represent the core battleground for future technological breakthroughs.
In terms of core components, the domestic market share of fiber lasers has surged from less than 20% at the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan to nearly 70%. The localization rate of scanning galvanometers for civilian equipment has reached 70%. With core components no longer dependent on foreign suppliers, a solid foundation has been laid for optimizing industry costs and ensuring supply-chain security.
In the field of industrial software, key processes such as data preparation and topology optimization have successfully broken the international monopoly and achieved domestic substitution. By 2025, several domestically developed software products have already been included in the list of high-quality additive manufacturing solutions. However, in advanced areas like simulation and process optimization, international vendors still dominate, and the pace of domesticization in the software sector still needs to be accelerated.
Achievement 2: The breadth and depth of application continue to expand, accelerating penetration across all sectors.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the application scenarios of 3D printing technology have continued to expand, shifting from breakthroughs in key areas to pervasive adoption across all sectors. It has been successfully applied in 39 major industrial categories and 89 sub-industrial categories of the national economy, achieving a transformation “from optional to essential, and from supporting role to leading role.” As a result, the industry’s value is gradually being realized, and both the depth and breadth of its applications have reached new heights.
In terms of application depth, key areas have achieved large-scale mass production:
In the aerospace sector, the Long March and Zhuque series of rockets utilize tens of thousands of 3D-printed parts. The C919 large passenger aircraft incorporates 33 3D-printed parts across 28 different categories, enabling their mass production and application. Moreover, the new-generation fighter jets have also achieved the mass production and application of additively manufactured parts. In the biomedical field, the number of registered 3D-printed medical devices has reached 64, covering multiple specialized areas such as orthopedics, dentistry, and rehabilitation, thereby effectively enhancing the quality of medical services.
In the consumer electronics industry, annual production of 3D-printed phone hinges has reached tens of millions, and structural components such as watch cases have also achieved large-scale mass production, becoming industry standards.
In terms of application breadth, emerging fields are accelerating their penetration:
The application of 3D printing technology continues to deepen in emerging fields such as automotive manufacturing, the low-altitude economy, and humanoid robotics. These sectors have extremely high demands for lightweight materials, complex structures, and rapid iteration—areas that align perfectly with the technological advantages of additive manufacturing. At the same time, 3D printing is also being widely adopted in fields like construction, education, cultural creativity, and mold making, creating a diversified application landscape and continuously driving market demand. Moreover, market demand is undergoing structural upgrades—from showcasing prototypes to mass production, and from single components to integrated functional systems—forcing companies in the industry to shift from “selling equipment” to “offering end-to-end solution packages.”
Achievement 3: The industrial ecosystem is gradually being refined, and its supporting capabilities continue to improve.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has gradually established a three-in-one additive manufacturing industrial ecosystem comprising “platforms + standards + talent,” thereby creating a multi-dimensional and comprehensive industrial support system that has laid a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the industry.
In terms of platform development, we have established a multi-tiered innovation and service platform that includes not only national-level industry alliances, standardization technical committees, and innovation centers, but also provincial-level innovation centers, pilot-scale testing platforms, and incubators. This has enabled coordinated efforts from top to bottom, providing robust support for enterprises in technological R&D, technology transfer, and talent cultivation.
In terms of building a standardized system, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has released a total of 3 international standards, 70 national standards, and 31 industry standards. The standard system covers the entire industrial chain—including 3D printing materials, equipment, software, processes, testing, and applications—effectively regulating industrial development and enhancing the level of industrial standardization.
In terms of talent development, China has established a multi-level talent cultivation system. Nearly 100 universities have set up majors related to additive manufacturing, among which 23 universities offer undergraduate programs in "Additive Manufacturing Engineering." In 2025, China will officially launch a new vocational undergraduate program in "Additive Manufacturing Engineering Technology," thereby providing the industry with a large number of specialized technical professionals and alleviating the pressure caused by the shortage of skilled personnel.
Three, The New Landscape of the 15th Five-Year Plan: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist
The “15th Five-Year Plan” proposals for the first time suggest that certain key areas of future industries should be cultivated as new drivers of economic growth. Additive manufacturing, possessing both the characteristics of a strategic emerging industry and a future industry, is now poised to seize new development opportunities; yet it also faces numerous new circumstances, fresh challenges, and emerging issues.
1. New Situation: Accelerated Overseas Expansion Interwoven with Great Power Competition
Currently, China’s additive manufacturing enterprises are actively pursuing overseas expansion strategies, and foreign markets have become a new growth engine for the industry. Thanks to the significant enhancement of the country’s overall strength, domestic enterprises now enjoy solid backing as they venture abroad. At the same time, however, competition among global major powers is intensifying, and protectionism in trade is on the rise. Recently, Western countries such as the United States have issued relevant documents imposing restrictions on China’s high-end manufacturing sector. As a result, core components of China’s additive manufacturing industry still face the potential risk of being “choked,” and the global market landscape is undergoing a reshaping process, leaving the industry’s overseas expansion fraught with uncertainties. Moreover, the importance of countries along the Belt and Road continues to grow, making them a new focal point for Chinese additive manufacturing enterprises seeking to expand into international markets.
2. New Opportunities: Technological Convergence Sparks New Momentum for Development
The industrial development is facing multiple opportunities. The deep integration of next-generation information technologies—such as AI, the industrial internet, and big data—with additive manufacturing is injecting new vitality into industrial growth. AI applications—including online monitoring of laser melt pools, adaptive parameter adjustments, and real-time defect detection—are already beginning to be implemented, driving 3D printing toward greater intelligence and automation. Meanwhile, emerging fields such as new-energy vehicles, the low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots are on the cusp of an explosive growth phase. These sectors highly complement the advantages of additive manufacturing technology, which will generate tremendous market demand for the 3D printing industry and propel it toward new growth. Over the next five years, China will also establish demonstration application scenarios for additive manufacturing and pilot projects for world-class smart factories, further embedding additive manufacturing deeply into the intelligent manufacturing ecosystem.
3. New Challenges: High-quality development sets higher requirements.
Opportunities and challenges coexist. As China accelerates its efforts to build a modern industrial system, higher demands are being placed on the additive manufacturing industry—namely, greater intelligence, greener practices, and deeper integration. At the same time, the market is setting ever-higher standards for the reliability, cost-effectiveness, and ability of 3D printing technology to address real-world production challenges. The traditional development model, which has emphasized “technology over application” and “equipment over service,” can no longer meet the requirements of high-quality development. Moreover, in terms of formulating international standards for additive manufacturing and wielding influence over industry rules, China’s position does not yet match the scale of its industry; thus, its global influence in the sector still needs to be further enhanced.
4. Existing Issues: Prominent shortcomings are hindering the high-quality development of the industry.
Dr. Li Fangzheng clearly pointed out that the development of China’s additive manufacturing industry still faces several prominent challenges, which are hindering its progress toward a higher level of development.
First, there are shortcomings in core technologies and original innovation capabilities. Key core technologies still face bottlenecks; some critical business sectors remain highly dependent on external sources; the materials system is not yet fully mature—particularly high-performance specialty materials such as high-temperature alloys still need to be imported; the number of original technologies and core patents remains insufficient, and our capacity for independent innovation still needs further enhancement.
Second, the industrial ecosystem and application promotion still have shortcomings. The standards, testing, and certification systems are not yet fully mature; there is insufficient coordination among regions and across various links in the industrial chain. The traditional manufacturing sector still has considerable room for improvement in its adoption of 3D printing technology. It remains challenging to implement the technology effectively and scale up its applications, and the scope of potential use cases needs further expansion.
Third, there are shortcomings in both talent and the supporting system. In China’s 3D printing industry, high-end technical talent and versatile professionals remain scarce, and the rate of commercializing scientific research findings is relatively low. As a result, many research outcomes struggle to be translated into actual productive forces. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises face significant difficulties in obtaining financing, with funding shortages being a particularly pressing issue that hinders their innovative development.
Four, Future Outlook: Anchor global leadership and advance comprehensive self-reliance and controllability.
Overall, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s additive manufacturing industry has achieved remarkable accomplishments. The market size has grown rapidly, technological innovation has continued to break new ground, application scenarios have kept expanding, and the industry’s position has steadily risen. In multiple sectors, the industry has demonstrated unprecedented dynamism, with its development speed far outpacing that of other manufacturing sectors. At the same time, however, the industry’s development also faces new circumstances and challenges, with both shortcomings and opportunities coexisting.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China has clearly defined its development goals for the additive manufacturing industry:
Strive to achieve global leadership, cultivate a group of leading enterprises with international competitiveness, and build industrial clusters with global influence. Promote the industry’s full autonomy and controllability, overcome critical technological bottlenecks, and bring the overall level up to the international advanced standard, thereby driving additive manufacturing from “running alongside” to “taking the lead.”
In the future, China’s additive manufacturing industry will focus on three key areas: First, intensifying efforts to tackle core technologies, with a particular emphasis on breaking through bottlenecks in high-performance materials, high-end core components, and advanced industrial software, thereby enhancing our independent innovation capabilities and achieving comprehensive self-reliance and controllability over materials, equipment, and software. Second, deepening the expansion of application scenarios by promoting the large-scale adoption of 3D printing technology in fields such as aerospace, healthcare, automotive, the low-altitude economy, and humanoid robotics, and by rolling out end-to-end solutions to boost the industry’s value-added. Third, perfecting the industrial ecosystem by strengthening the development of standards, testing, and certification systems, fostering regional collaboration and coordinated development across the industrial chain, stepping up talent cultivation efforts, addressing financing challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, and driving high-quality industrial growth. At the same time, we will actively participate in the formulation of international standards, enhance our global influence in the industry, leverage the Belt and Road Initiative to expand into international markets, and propel China’s additive manufacturing industry toward even higher-quality development.
Conclusion
As the 14th Five-Year Plan comes to a close, China’s additive manufacturing industry has delivered an impressive performance. The target of a 70-billion-yuan market size is within reach, and the industry has now reached a critical juncture—moving from catching up to taking the lead. As the 15th Five-Year Plan ushers in a new era, facing both new opportunities and challenges, China’s additive manufacturing industry must remain true to its original aspiration of innovation, address its technological shortcomings, deepen application-driven empowerment, and refine its ecosystem. Only then can it achieve its goals of global leadership and comprehensive self-reliance and control, turning the additive manufacturing industry into a new engine for economic growth and providing strong support for China’s efforts to become a manufacturing powerhouse and a spacefaring nation.
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