Key Points
- A Broad Industry View: The forum covered traditional tobacco, e-cigarette exports, next-generation products, technology, procurement, patents, regulation and supply chains.
- Policy Matters: 2Firsts emphasized that understanding China’s tobacco sector requires looking beyond market data to the policy, planning and industry logic behind it.
- Wider Global Impact: The sector’s transformation is increasingly influencing research, manufacturing, technology and competition beyond the Chinese domestic market.
- Partner and Competitor: For international companies, China’s tobacco sector may be a partner in some areas and a competitor in others, even for businesses without direct exposure to the Chinese domestic market.
2Firsts
Europe, September 21, 2026
China’s tobacco sector is undergoing continued transformation and becoming more closely connected with the global tobacco and nicotine industry. As the world’s largest single-country tobacco market and an important part of the global manufacturing and supply chain for e-cigarettes and other next-generation products, developments in China’s tobacco sector are drawing increasing attention from international companies and institutions. At the same time, the sector remains highly complex for many overseas industry participants, with information often fragmented across regulation, markets, supply chains and corporate developments.
On the afternoon of September 16, 2Firsts held a China-focused industry forum during InterTabac in Dortmund, Germany. Titled “China’s Tobacco and Nicotine Industry in Transition: 2027 Outlook,” the session examined regulatory, industry and market developments across China’s tobacco and nicotine sector.
More than 30 industry participants attended the forum, representing markets across North America, Europe, India and South Korea. Attendees included representatives from international tobacco companies, leaf tobacco businesses, consulting firms and industry media.
Alan Zhao, Co-founder and CEO of 2Firsts, delivered the main presentation on site. Echo Guo, Co-founder and COO of 2Firsts, and Kurt Yang, Principal Advisor, Regulatory & Compliance at 2Firsts Compliance Solutions, joined remotely.
It was the first China-focused tobacco industry forum organized by 2Firsts in an international market, and one of the relatively few public industry sessions to bring traditional tobacco, next-generation products, exports, technology, procurement, patents and regulation into a single discussion of China’s tobacco sector.
From Traditional Tobacco to Next-Generation Products: A Systematic View of China’s Tobacco Sector
Rather than focusing on a single product category or regulatory issue, the forum sought to present China’s tobacco sector from a broader industry perspective.
Topics included China’s traditional tobacco industry, e-cigarette exports, China Tobacco’s procurement and patent activity related to next-generation products, the readiness of Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers for the U.S. regulatory environment, and the development of heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches in the Chinese domestic market.
From leaf tobacco and cigarettes to e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, and from the domestic market and exports to procurement, research and development, regulation and supply chains, 2Firsts sought to provide international participants with a more systematic framework for understanding the sector as a whole.
Data was a major part of the session. The presentation drew on customs records, patent data, procurement information, regulatory materials and industry disclosures, combined with research collected, cross-checked, structured and analyzed by 2Firsts.
Beyond the Data: Understanding How China’s Tobacco Sector Works
For Zhao, market data alone is not enough to understand China’s tobacco sector.
One of the central messages of the session was:
“The data tells you what happened. Policy tells you why.”
China’s tobacco sector is strongly shaped by policy priorities and production planning. Short-term changes in volume, product mix and revenue do not necessarily reflect consumer demand alone; they may also reflect production plans, regulatory priorities and revenue objectives. Understanding the market therefore requires not only looking at what has changed, but also examining the policy and industry logic behind those changes.
Against that backdrop, 2Firsts also discussed the challenges and drivers shaping the transformation of China’s tobacco sector, possible development paths for next-generation products in the domestic market, and the outlook for China’s e-cigarette manufacturing industry.
Changes in China’s Tobacco Sector Are Having Wider Global Implications
Another central theme of the forum was the growing connection between changes in China’s tobacco sector and developments in international markets.
2Firsts argued that the sector’s transformation will not remain confined to the Chinese domestic market. Developments in regulation, technical standards and next-generation products may increasingly have implications beyond China. At the same time, the scale of the domestic industry, manufacturing capacity and supply-chain base means that further transformation could affect research and development, production, technology and competition across global markets.
Historically, international industry participants have often viewed China’s role primarily through manufacturing and supply chains. That perspective is becoming less complete as capabilities in technology, product development and international market participation continue to expand. China’s tobacco sector is taking on a broader role across areas including technology, next-generation products, cigars and overseas markets.
The forum summarized this evolving relationship in simple terms: China’s tobacco sector may be a partner to international companies in one part of the value chain and a competitor in another. In some cases, it may be both at the same time.
For companies operating in the global tobacco and nicotine industry, this means China’s tobacco sector is increasingly difficult to overlook. Even companies without business in the Chinese domestic market need to consider its role in international markets — where cooperation may emerge, where competition may develop, and how those changes could affect product, technology, supply-chain and market strategies.
Understanding China’s Tobacco Sector Is Becoming an Important Issue for Global Companies
Zhao said the forum was organized against the backdrop of China’s tobacco sector becoming more deeply connected with the global tobacco industry and taking on a more significant role in its development.
“Many international companies and institutions still have only a limited understanding of how China’s tobacco sector works,” Zhao said. “Without that understanding, communication and cooperation become more difficult. 2Firsts wants to help bridge that gap, enabling the global industry to better understand China’s tobacco sector and supporting deeper, higher-quality engagement between the sector and the international industry.”
Founded in 2022, 2Firsts is a global media and intelligence platform focused on the tobacco and nicotine industry. Over the past four years, it has continued to expand its coverage of regulation, markets, technology and corporate developments across the global tobacco and nicotine sector, becoming an increasingly important source of industry information and insight.
Over the past year, 2Firsts has also hosted a series of industry forums in Shenzhen, China, covering market, regulatory, technology and brand-related topics, providing the industry with a high-quality platform for forward-looking discussion and exchange.
Following the forum, a number of attendees remained at the venue to continue discussions with Zhao. Some participants said they had rarely had the opportunity to gain such a systematic view of China’s tobacco market at a public industry event.
2Firsts said it will continue to conduct research and organize industry exchanges around China’s tobacco sector, regulatory developments, next-generation products and the sector’s growing links with global markets, providing international industry participants with more information and perspective on developments in China.
To discuss China’s tobacco sector further with 2Firsts, please contact:
Alan Zhao
Email: alan@2firsts.com
Cover image: Alan Zhao, Co-founder and CEO of 2Firsts, presents an overview of China’s tobacco leaf industry during the forum. | Photo: 2Firsts
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