China’s Changing Paper Trail – The Impact of China's New Import Policy on the Domestic Paper Packaging Industry

From 2017 onwards, China’s government has issued a series of recovered-paper (RCP) import bans to address environmental and general health issues, and enhance self-sufficiency of old corrugated containers (OCC). Because the country is currently highly dependent on imported OCC, these policies are expected to have a significant effect on the local corrugated paper packaging industry. We believe the industry is set to enter a new era of growing pains while it transitions towards achieving the Chinese government’s goals of self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability.