Why is China's sodium silicate capacity still expanding when the market is already oversupplied?

Why is China's sodium silicate capacity still expanding when the market is already oversupplied?
New capacity keeps coming. A Hunan producer is building 92,000 t/y of solid and 23,600 t/y of liquid sodium silicate, while Yuanli Chemical already runs 300,000 t/y of solid material with utilization near 100% and more lines under construction. Much of this is captive: sodium silicate feeds precipitated silica and silica gel, so integrated players expand downstream rather than sell the commodity. China's market was worth RMB 8.12 billion in 2022, up 10.1%, but first-half 2023 slipped 2.2% year on year. With average prices around RMB 1,670/t and environmental and labor costs rising, the growth is real but increasingly tied to internal demand rather than merchant sales.