As early as the 1930s, graphite production and processing began at the Liumao graphite mine in Jixi, Heilongjiang, and the Nanshu graphite mine in Shandong, China. At that time, beneficiation processes were simple, working conditions were poor and productivity was extremely low, with annual output of only a few thousand tonnes. After decades of development, China's output of graphite and carbon products rose rapidly. From 2004 to 2011, output grew at a compound annual rate of 22.12%. In 2011, China's graphite and carbon products output reached 25.5617 million tonnes, up 21.98% year on year. [2] 

       Graphite and carbon products have excellent properties and are finding increasingly broad applications, with production capacity and profitability showing rapid growth. In 2011, China's graphite and carbon products industry developed rapidly. Companies in the industry demonstrated strong cost and expense management and control, as well as strong profitability. National Bureau of Statistics data show that in 2011 the industry achieved a gross industrial output value of RMB 167.564 billion, sales revenue of RMB 167.765 billion, up 40.58% year on year, and total profit of RMB 10.959 billion, up 50.87% year on year. As applications continue to expand, competition in China's graphite and carbon products industry is becoming increasingly intense.

       China has many graphite and carbon product enterprises above the designated size, and industry concentration is low. By the end of 2011, there were 871 such enterprises. The combined sales revenue of the ten largest companies accounted for only 13.46% of the industry's total. Based on development trends and the competitive landscape of the global graphite and carbon products market, China's industry will gradually become concentrated in large groups, and its level of concentration will increase further.

As China's metallurgy, chemicals, machinery, medical equipment, nuclear energy, automotive and aerospace industries develop rapidly, their demand for graphite and carbon products will continue to grow, and China's graphite and carbon products industry will maintain rapid growth. According to statistics in the Forward-Looking Analysis Report on the Development Prospects and Investment Strategy Planning of China's Graphite and Carbon Products Industry, the industry's sales revenue grew at a compound annual rate of 36.56% from 2006 to 2011. Based on current domestic and international economic conditions, China's graphite and carbon products sales revenue data for 2006–2011, and China's economic growth data, the industry's sales revenue is roughly estimated to grow at a compound annual rate of 21% from 2012 to 2015, reaching RMB 340 billion in 2015.