China mainly imports PE from the Middle East and Asia countries

Secondly, China mainly imports PE from the Middle East and Asia countries. Among them, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and India are at the top of the import list. While Iran and South Korea are the two countries of greatest concern in this global coronavirus outbreak.

According to customs data, China imported 2.5557 million tons from Iran in 2019, accounting for 15.34% of the total imports. Imports from South Korea are 1.2076 million tons, accounting for 7.25% of the total imports. The above picture has showed China's PE imports from Iran and South Korea in 2019 and their share in total imports. It can be found that although Iran's imports has fluctuated, the overall proportion is still large; while South Korea's imports account for less than nearly half of Iran's. However, as imports from South Korea are relatively stable, its impact in the China’s PE market cannot be underestimated.