China-ASEAN petrochemical industry international cooperation faces new opportunities

Based on the views of Li Shousheng, President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and other experts, China and ASEAN are both important growth poles of the world economy, and both are developing countries. They have their own unique advantages, but also have a large population and a large market. , The common characteristics of full potential for late development, and great emphasis on support for the petroleum and chemical industries. All these constitute advantages and opportunities for win-win cooperation in the regional petroleum and chemical industries.

First, ASEAN has a very advantageous geographical location and is an important node of the Maritime Silk Road. ASEAN is at a key position in the strategic channel for petroleum and chemical products. It can reach the Middle East, an important oil producer in the world, via the Indian Ocean to the west, and East Asian countries via the Pacific Ocean. It has a natural location advantage for the development of petroleum and chemical industries. Among them, Singapore makes full use of the location advantage of the Strait of Malacca as a maritime oil channel hub to vigorously develop the oil refining and petrochemical industries. The Jurong Industrial Zone has developed into BASF, ExxonMobil, LANXESS, Mitsui Chemicals, Shell and Sumitomo Chemical, etc. A world-class comprehensive petroleum and chemical base including multinational companies. The development of the petroleum and chemical industries in ASEAN has a "geographical advantage" and the prospects are very broad.

The second is that ASEAN is rich in energy resources and is highly complementary to China's resources. ASEAN is rich in energy resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, natural rubber, and potash, and has unique conditions for the development of the petroleum and chemical industries. In particular, natural rubber and potassium salts are relatively lacking in China, and they have always been the focus of cooperation between the two sides. Southeast Asia is the world's largest natural rubber producer and the most important natural rubber exporter, accounting for more than 90% of the global natural rubber trade. China is the largest importer of natural rubber in Southeast Asia, accounting for about 40% of Southeast Asia's natural rubber exports. Laos and Thailand are rich in potash and are important overseas investment destinations for Chinese potash companies.

Third, China has advantages in technology research and development, and its petroleum and chemical industry chain innovation and green development capabilities are relatively strong. Since the middle of the 20th century, after more than 70 years of development, China has built a relatively complete petroleum and chemical industry system, and has become a major country in the world’s petroleum and chemical industries, with traditional industries such as fertilizers, pesticides, soda ash, chlor-alkali, rubber, coatings, and synthetic resins. The production capacity and output are among the top in the world, and the level of technical equipment and energy consumption and environmental protection indicators are also at the leading level. In some emerging industries such as new chemical materials and high-end fine chemicals, Chinese companies have also made significant progress. At the same time, China Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Technology Corporation has strong construction capabilities and has carried out a large number of engineering construction cooperation in various countries around the world.

Fourth is the formal signing of RCEP, which creates new opportunities for the cooperation and development of China-ASEAN petroleum and chemical industries. The population market covered by the RCEP agreement exceeds 2 billion, ranking it among the forefront of regional agreements in the world. The RCEP agreement has made new regulations on investment, services, trade in goods, movement of people, and customs clearance of goods. Investment is managed by a negative list. The ratchet mechanism of the policy will ensure that the investment and service industries will not regress for a long time. Crude oil, natural gas, lignite The benchmark import tariff rate of other basic energy products is relatively low, the scope of temporary entry for people is relaxed, the period of stay is extended, and the customs clearance pre-judgment of imported goods is made to shorten the customs clearance time after the arrival of the goods. At the same time, countries in the region have prioritized the development of petroleum and chemical industries. China introduced the industry

The "14th Five-Year" development plan and related special plans; Malaysia’s East Coast Economic Zone, Sarawak Renewable Energy Corridor, etc. will focus on the petroleum and chemical industry as one of the industries that encourage investment; Thailand will focus on oil refining, petroleum and chemical raw materials, and plastic products. It is listed as industries that encourage investment; Brunei will provide preferential policy support to the production of oil refining, plastics and synthetic materials products as pioneer industries; Vietnam plans to concentrate investment in the development of the petroleum and chemical industries by 2025.

At present, Singapore and Thailand among ASEAN countries have approved the RCEP agreement, and among non-ASEAN countries, China and Japan have completed the approval process. The 15 member states unanimously stated that they will complete the domestic approval work as soon as possible, and strive for the formal entry into force and implementation of RCEP early next year. The RCEP agreement has created new opportunities for China-ASEAN cooperation in the petroleum and chemical industries, and it will definitely promote the deep integration and development of the petroleum and chemical industries of the two sides in the regional supply chain and value chain.