The "Made in China 2025" plan has specified developmental goals in ten strategic areas including new materials. The polymer, as an important part of new materials, has wide applications and plays an irreplaceable role in national economy. China has become a big nation but not a powerful one in polymeric materials industry. In the era of "Made in China 2025" , how to advance polymers industry remains a significant project. This paper summarizes the state of the art, problems, and bottlenecks of China polymers industry, points out seventeen priority categories, and indicates the faced challenges, opportunities, and outlook in the R & D and manufacturing of polymeric materials. Additionally, we stress three misunderstandings that are worthwhile to be rethought over in R & D and technology upgrading. Based on the current situations of China, we emphasize three priority key aspects: first, strategic design at the national level; second, infrastructure construction for the polymer genome engineering information system; and third, priority development of polymeric materials used for the automotive industry, rail transportation, and aircraft lightweight.