Recently, the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association and the Shenzhen-Chaozhou Intelligent Sanitary Ware Industry Collaborative Development Alliance, along with the 2026 Chaozhou Spring Festival Gathering of the China Building and Sanitary Ceramics Association, the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters, and the Guangdong Ceramics Association, were grandly held. Government and enterprise representatives, experts, and scholars gathered to review the achievements of the past year and carefully plan for a high-quality leap forward in the new year. Against the backdrop of the upcoming adjustment of the export tax rebate policy in 2026, all parties reached a consensus and actively explored ways to address challenges through quality improvement and collaborative innovation, promoting the steady progress of the Chaozhou sanitary ceramics industry amidst changes. Chaozhou, as the “Porcelain Capital of China,” shines ever brighter. It is the largest sanitary ceramics production base in the country, with a very solid industrial foundation and a healthy and balanced domestic and international market structure. Domestic sales account for approximately 52%, and exports account for 48%, with products sold in more than 130 countries and regions worldwide. In the field of smart bathroom products, Chaozhou has achieved remarkable results, accounting for 31% of the national output of smart toilets. It can be said that “one out of every three smart toilets in the country is made in Chaozhou,” and 80% of the ceramic bases in the country also originate from here. In 2024, the output value of Chaozhou sanitary ceramics exceeded 18 billion yuan, and the industry’s competitiveness continued to strengthen. In 2025, with the deepening of the Shenzhen-Chaozhou cooperation and assistance, the full implementation of group standards, and the official launch of the quality traceability platform, Chaozhou’s sanitary ware industry ushered in an important opportunity for high-quality transformation and upgrading.
In the past year, the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association and the Shenzhen-Chaozhou Smart Bathroom Industry Collaborative Development Alliance, with “standard-led and quality-based credibility” as their core, have made every effort to promote the full coverage of CCC mandatory certification.
The association and alliance spearheaded the formulation and release of two group standards: “Intelligent Toilet Seat” and “Light Intelligent Toilet Seat.” Both standards exceed national standards in key performance indicators, with the “Light Intelligent Toilet Seat” standard filling a gap in the industry and laying a solid technical foundation for high-quality industrial development. The first Chaozhou Famous and High-Quality Products Exhibition was successfully held, showcasing the quality and innovative vitality of “Made in Chaozhou.” The Chaozhou Intelligent Sanitary Ware Quality Traceability Platform was officially launched, enabling “one-code access” to product grades, test reports, and certification information. This not only protects consumer rights but also helps high-quality enterprises escape the predicament of low-price competition. Under the alliance’s promotion, an industrial ecosystem of “standard collaboration and brand co-construction” is gradually taking shape, leading Chaozhou sanitary ware towards a new path of high-end and international development. Huang Lihui, president of the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association, stated that in the new year, the association and alliance will closely follow the Chaozhou Municipal Government’s “Quality-Oriented City” strategy, deepen the construction of the standard system, and encourage more enterprises to join the “Greater Bay Area Certification” system, allowing “Made in Chaozhou” to better reach the world. Meanwhile, we will continue to improve product quality, organize various exhibitions of renowned and high-quality products, and reshape the industry’s value through digitalization and branding. Furthermore, we will inherit the spirit of unity and progress of the Chaozhou people, continuously achieving breakthroughs in technological innovation, green production, and model transformation, allowing the millennium-old ceramic industry to radiate new vitality under the drive of new quality productivity. On January 8th, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration issued the “Announcement on Adjusting Export Tax Rebate Policies for Photovoltaic and Other Products.” From April 1, 2026, the export tax rebate for value-added tax on photovoltaic and other products will be cancelled, including all ceramic categories. Faced with this new situation, the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association issued an “Initiative on Overcoming Difficulties Together and Promoting the Sustainable Development of Chaozhou Sanitary Ceramics Foreign Trade” at the meeting. Su Yaoguang, Honorary President of the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association, analyzed that the Chaozhou sanitary ceramics industry is highly dependent on foreign trade policy subsidies, and this adjustment will directly compress profit margins, impacting normal production and operation. Coupled with factors such as fluctuating raw material prices, rising energy costs, and the non-renewable nature of mineral resources, the entire industry is facing unprecedented pressure for survival and development.
To this end, the association issued an initiative to sanitary ceramics manufacturers and supporting industry chain enterprises in Chaozhou. On the one hand, it calls for building industry consensus and sharing costs collaboratively. This includes adjusting ex-factory prices to jointly absorb the cost pressure brought about by the adjustment of the tax rebate policy, and urges upstream and downstream supporting enterprises to reasonably adjust their profit expectations, build a cost-sharing mechanism across the entire industry chain, and work together to stabilize the overall development. On the other hand, it focuses on transformation and upgrading to enhance core competitiveness. Enterprises are encouraged to increase R&D investment, introduce advanced processes such as high-temperature rapid firing, improve the product quality rate and production efficiency; and focus on developing high-end categories such as smart sanitary ware and antibacterial ceramics to increase product added value.
Wang Weiguo, Secretary-General of the Guangdong Ceramics Association, stated that facing changes in the external environment, the industry needs to proactively adapt and develop collaboratively, shifting from “scale expansion” to “quality and efficiency,” increasing R&D and green transformation efforts, and winning the future with technological strength. This conference provided an important platform for industry to jointly build a new ecosystem.
Several awarding and signing ceremonies were also held at the event, demonstrating the industry’s cohesion and external support. Last year, the Chaozhou Zhenhai Tower reconstruction project launched a social donation initiative, which the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association actively responded to, widely mobilizing its member companies through various means, with member companies enthusiastically donating and providing strong support. The donating companies were commended at the event.
To deepen financial support, the Chaozhou Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Association reached a strategic cooperation agreement with the Chaozhou Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China and held a comprehensive credit line signing ceremony. The Chaozhou Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China granted the association a strategic financial credit line of up to 4 billion yuan, injecting strong financial momentum into the industry’s development.
The meeting also awarded certificates to the first batch of companies to join the “Chaozhou Smart Sanitary Ware Quality Traceability Platform,” and the first batch of companies jointly read out a commitment letter. The platform was launched on December 9, 2025, and has been confirmed by the Chaozhou Municipal Market Supervision Administration to currently have 10 smart sanitary ware companies on board. According to the inspection by the Municipal Quality Inspection Institute, all products on the platform meet the relevant group standard technical requirements, and their performance indicators all reach level two, placing them at a leading level in China. In addition, the meeting also included a special presentation on “AI Empowering the Development of the Building Ceramic Industry,” exploring in depth the new possibilities for digital and intelligent technologies to bring about changes to this traditional industry.
