China has achieved mass production of T1000-grade high-performance carbon fiber using a domestically developed manufacturing process, marking a significant step forward in the country's advanced materials sector.

According to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the carbon fiber is now being produced at scale in Shanghai and is expected to support strategic industries including aerospace, embodied artificial intelligence, and the low-altitude economy.

The newly mass-produced material is a 12K small-tow carbon fiber, meaning each bundle contains 12,000 individual filaments. Each filament measures only about seven micrometers in diameter, roughly one-tenth the thickness of a human hair.

Despite its extremely small size, the material offers exceptional strength. A single fiber bundle has a tensile strength exceeding 6.5 gigapascals, enough to pull a medium-sized truck weighing around 10 tonnes.

Carbon fiber is regarded as a key strategic material for advanced manufacturing. It weighs less than one-quarter as much as steel while delivering seven to nine times greater strength. It also offers excellent corrosion resistance and fatigue performance, making it indispensable for high-end equipment and next-generation industrial applications.

T1000-grade carbon fiber represents one of the highest-performance categories of carbon fiber currently available and is widely used in demanding fields where both lightweight construction and extreme strength are required.

After years of research and development, China has established a complete industrial chain covering precursor production, carbon fiber manufacturing, and composite material processing. The achievement is expected to further strengthen the country's supply of advanced materials for critical technologies and strategic industries.

Industry forecasts suggest China's carbon fiber market could exceed 60 billion yuan (about $8.9 billion) by 2030, driven by growing demand from aerospace, new energy, intelligent robotics, and other emerging sectors.