ExxonMobil's Huizhou project shows global firms' confidence in China's future
petrochemical complex now taking shape in Huizhou, Guangdong province. More than a major infrastructure project, this investment is a statement that
forward-looking multinational firms are bullish on China's future.
Located in the Huizhou Daya Bay Petrochemical Industrial Park, the ExxonMobil complex is being built in two phases and will include a world-class steam cracker as well as production facilities for high-performance polyethylene and polypropylene. These materials form the backbone of countless industries, from consumer packaging to automobiles and medical supplies. With naphtha shipments already secured, the company is laying down not just concrete and steel but the groundwork for decades of robust operations.
What makes this initiative even more notable is its ownership structure as it is one of the few wholly foreign-owned mega petrochemical projects in China. In an era where some countries advocate economic decoupling and a retreat from globalisation, ExxonMobil is doing precisely the opposite. It is
deepening its integration into China's economy with a long-term mindset and strategic clarity.
The reasons are compelling. China is not only the world's second-largest economy, it is also a rapidly evolving one. The nation's ongoing urbanisation, growing middle class and demand for cleaner, higher-quality materials have created sustained and dynamic demand for performance chemicals.
ExxonMobil, which has more than 130 years of history in China dating back to its predecessor Standard Oil, understands these macro trends well, and the company envisions continuing this relationship for another 130 years. That kind of commitment speaks louder than any short-term political narrative.
The Huizhou project fits into China's broader push towards
high-quality development . As the country shifts from low-cost manufacturing to innovation-led, environmentally sustainable growth, demand for advanced materials and efficient energy inputs will only increase. ExxonMobil's decision to locate its newest investment in Guangdong, a province at the heart of China's '
reform and opening up ' legacy, further aligns the project with China's developmental priorities. The move also signals a convergence of interests. China needs global expertise and technology to support its modernisation, while multinational companies need access to a vast and growing market.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
10 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
US treasury secretary says meetings with Chinese have ‘advanced our talks'
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that meetings with his Chinese counterparts this week 'advanced our talks', but stopped short of confirming that US President Donald Trump approved the consensus that Beijing claimed they had reached. 'This week's negotiations in Stockholm have advanced our talks with China, and I believe that we have the makings of a deal that will benefit both of our great nations,' Bessent wrote on X. 'Thanks to the powerful bond between @POTUS and President Xi, I am optimistic about the path forward,' he added, without specifying where consensus stands following talks that ended on Tuesday. Since then, the US side is seen taking its time to confirm any new agreement reached with China, its third-largest trading partner, after neighbouring Mexico and Canada. China's vice-minister of commerce, Li Chenggang, who also took part in the talks, said before leaving Stockholm on Tuesday that a pause on new tariff increases – in place since May – would be extended, but neither Trump nor Bessent has made similar announcements. The Trump administration has instead delivered mixed messages.
South China Morning Post
10 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
New university subsidy rules will benefit those committed to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is not known as a land of opportunity for nothing. The vibrant economy and good career prospects continue to draw many from overseas, as evidenced by the enthusiastic response to the talent admission scheme introduced in late 2022. But while the measure can improve the city's competitiveness and demographics, it also creates room for abuse. In a belated move, the authorities have rightly tightened rules to prevent the children of non-local talent from enjoying university education subsidies without settling in the city. Under the new arrangement, they need to stay for a minimum of two years to be eligible for subsidised tertiary education places – currently at a favourable annual fee of HK$44,500 (US$5,700) – or pay three times higher as non-local students. The adjustments came in response to claims that some people and intermediaries arranged for talent from the mainland who had no intention of settling in Hong Kong to apply for various admission schemes to obtain dependent visas for their children's tertiary education in the city. Some successful applicants also reportedly arranged for their children to continue living on the mainland and prepare for the city's university entrance exams. As of May, about 142,000 children were approved for entry as dependants under various talent admission schemes. They will add to future manpower and economic productivity, giving a needed boost to the city, with its low birth rate and ageing population. But there is a difference between those who just take advantage of the benefits of the scheme and those who have come and made Hong Kong their home. The number of dependants admitted to the annual 15,000 government-funded first-year first-degree places may be small. But the rising trend, up from 62 in 2022-23 to 68 in 2023-24 and 185 in 2024-25, clearly warrants attention.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
EU-China engagement shouldn't be reduced to a couple's therapy session
The 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the European Union and China should have been a celebratory occasion to reflect on the past and chart the course for the future. The 25th EU-China summit should have provided a space for such a commemorative moment, allowing both sides to display diplomatic pageantry and the symbolism of a forward-looking relationship. Instead, an initial two-day summit was watered down to a single-day event in Beijing on July 24, where President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang met European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen There was no joint EU-China summit communique, a standard diplomatic practice to show that a summit concluded successfully. Mired in tensions and seemingly irreconcilable differences, EU-China relations have entered a midlife crisis. To be fair, even during better days, relations were never particularly cosy. Rather, it was a relationship built upon necessity: despite ideological differences, choosing each other was a geopolitical and strategic choice – a necessary evil – to safeguard multilateralism and multipolarity. China's diplomatic tradition has long valued symbolism and protocol. The toned-down summit ensued after a string of meetings between Chinese diplomats, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi , and their European counterparts over the past month to carefully craft and control messaging – a foreign ministers' strategic dialogue on July 2, the seventh China-France high-level dialogue on people-to-people exchanges on July 4 and the sixth EU-China high-level climate dialogue in Beijing on July 14. The 25th EU-China summit nonetheless served more as a face-saving event for China and a damage control mechanism for the EU. Despite the EU's acknowledgement of 'the importance it continues to attach' to its relationship with China and 'its commitment to deepen engagement', the summit was akin to a couples therapy session. EU leaders vented a list of grievances and expectations to China without proposing concrete solutions.
