In 2026, as China enters the opening phase of its 15th Five-Year Plan and continues to advance the “Healthy China” strategy, the indoor environmental control industry stands at a pivotal turning point. The sector is undergoing a profound transformation—evolving from a single-function pollution control tool into an integrated solution that combines health management, intelligent services, and system-level optimization.
Policy Momentum: Healthy Environments Elevated to National Strategy
In 2025, China’s National Disease Control Administration, together with 16 government departments, issued the Healthy China Action – Implementation Plan for the Healthy Environment Promotion Initiative, elevating indoor environmental health to a national strategic priority for the first time. The plan sets a target of raising residents’ environmental and health literacy to over 25% by 2030 and incorporates “prevention and control of indoor air pollution” into its advocacy indicators.
Guided by the national “dual carbon” goals, mandatory national standards for green building materials have undergone significant upgrades, aiming to curb indoor pollution at its source. Between January and September 2025, approximately 24,300 newly launched renovation projects for aging residential communities nationwide became key application scenarios for green building materials. Municipalities such as Shanghai and Guangdong have further implemented indoor environmental health demonstration projects in sensitive facilities—including kindergartens and eldercare institutions—making air quality compliance a mandatory acceptance criterion.
Market Landscape: From Single-Function Purification to Scenario-Based Specialization
The residential air purifier market continues its recovery momentum. In the first three quarters of 2025, retail sales recorded year-on-year growth between 20% and 30%. In terms of price segmentation, mid-range products priced between RMB 1,000 and RMB 3,000 accounted for 56% of total market share, while high-end models above RMB 3,000 increased their share to 11%.
Scenario-based segmentation has emerged as a new growth engine. Demand for pet-focused air purifiers has surged, with related commercial content on Chinese social platforms growing by over 400%. More than 90% of products now come standard with formaldehyde removal functionality. The competitive landscape reflects a “giants dominate, specialists differentiate” pattern: leading brands such as Midea and Gree Electric leverage channel and scale advantages, while technology-driven brands like 352 and IQAir establish footholds in the premium segment through technical barriers and performance differentiation.
The indoor environmental testing services market is expanding in parallel. The testing rate for newly renovated homes has increased from less than 10% in 2020 to over 35% in 2025. Meanwhile, the smart monitoring equipment market has grown by 45% year-on-year, with installation rates reaching 60% in key venues such as schools and hospitals.
Technological Leap: Catalytic Decomposition Ushering in Long-Term Purification
Catalytic decomposition technology is rapidly replacing traditional activated carbon adsorption. Advanced catalytic systems can decompose formaldehyde into water and carbon dioxide at room temperature, effectively eliminating the risk of secondary pollution.
For example, the GC Series XE by IQAir achieves a cumulative formaldehyde purification capacity of 60,000 mg—40 times the requirement of China’s new F4 national standard level. With a service life of three to five years, it aligns with the typical 15-year emission cycle of formaldehyde from building materials.
In ultrafine particulate filtration, cutting-edge technologies can now remove particles as small as 0.003 microns with filtration efficiency exceeding 99.99%, without relying on electrostatic adsorption—thereby avoiding performance degradation over time. Multi-component synergistic purification technologies, enabled by modular design, can achieve a 99% TVOC removal rate within 40 minutes, while delivering over 98% removal efficiency for H1N1 viruses and pet allergens.
Commercial Kitchen Emissions Control: From Equipment to Intelligent Supervision
Catering-related oil fumes contribute approximately 10–15% of urban PM2.5 concentrations and account for a significant proportion of environmental complaints. Oil fume purification technology is evolving from single-method treatment to integrated, compound systems. Solutions such as “honeycomb high-voltage electrostatic fields combined with dual-wavelength photocatalysis” and “gradient activated carbon with bio-enzyme systems” are increasingly adopted.
Smart supervision technologies are advancing simultaneously. In Jiang’an District of Wuhan, the implementation of a “cloud supervision” model integrates sensors with mobile enforcement terminals, creating a digital closed-loop system of monitoring, response, and feedback. This approach has improved enforcement efficiency by 50%. In the first three quarters of 2025, the commercial oil fume purifier market recorded a 35% year-on-year sales increase, while products equipped with odor treatment functionality rose from 28% market share in 2023 to 62%.
Smoking Harm Reduction: Parallel Innovation Pathways
In the field of smoking harm reduction, innovation is advancing along dual tracks. Companies such as Wenzhi Technology are promoting “intelligent digital therapeutics” solutions by integrating smart filter devices into conventional cigarettes. By replacing combustion with controlled heating or baking processes, these systems claim to reduce tar, carbon monoxide, and other harmful substances by over 90%, while pairing with mobile applications for behavioral tracking and cessation intervention.
Meanwhile, VapeAway is conducting clinical research on its e-cigarette filtration devices, exploring non-pharmaceutical approaches to vaping cessation. China’s smoking device market is projected to reach RMB 3 billion by 2026, with the share of intelligent products continuing to expand.
Future Outlook: From Standalone Products to Service Ecosystems
The future of respiratory health management will center on proactive, integrated service ecosystems that combine sensing, analysis, and intervention. Devices will dynamically adjust strategies based on users’ health conditions, lifestyle patterns, and real-time physiological indicators. Deep integration with fresh air systems, air conditioners, and window or environmental sensors will enable seamless, “invisible” environmental optimization.
Hardware will increasingly serve as the gateway to subscription-based services. Consumers will no longer pay solely for devices, but for comprehensive service packages encompassing filter replacement, performance monitoring, environmental data reporting, and health consultation.
According to projections by the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry, by 2030 China aims to establish a globally leading indoor environmental health assurance system—making “clean, safe, and comfortable” indoor environments a universal standard. Under the coordinated momentum of policy, technology, and market forces, the industry will continue advancing toward greater precision, intelligence, and full value-chain service integration.
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