In the early 1980s, China's serious shortage of productive forest combined with outdated technology to create a pulp-and-paper shortage at a time of increasing demand. From 1981 to 1986 the annual growth rate of paper production was 7.3 percent. However, in 1986 only 20 percent of paper pulp was made of wood the remÍÍÍÍainder derived from grass fiber.

China's more than 1,500 paper mills, produced approximately 45.4 million tons and over 500 different types of machine-made paper in 1986. Approximately 1 million tons of pulp and paper were imported annually. In 1986 China focused on pollution control, increased product variety, less use of fiber and chemical ingredients, and more efficient use of energy as measures to improve production. However, China also sought foreign assistance to achieve these goals.

Data as of July 1987