Talking about the largest private investment project in China, the Zhoushan green petrochemical base project, Premier Li Keqiang said it is of great significance to the national economy, and urged the government to provide a level-playing field for all types of enterprises.
He made the remarks at a symposium on the economy held on Nov 8 in Beijing. Li Shuirong, chairman of Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, the investor of the Zhoushan green petrochemical base project, was invited to the symposium.
Premier Li made a visit to the project a month ago.
With a projected total investment of 200 billion yuan ($28.8 billion), the green petrochemical base project is the world’s largest single-industry project in oil refining, Li Shuirong said.
“What merits special note is that it was the first private capital-controlled petrochemical project. As the largest private investment project in China, without using State funds, it made contributions to stabilizing investment,” Premier Li said.
He asked related departments to give support to the project after learning that some problems still exist.
The project was set up after the State Council made a clear statement in 2014 to open up the integrated refining and chemical projects of petrochemical bases under the State plan to social capital.
Aside from sending a strong signal to the market to stimulate the vigor of private investment, the project was important for the national economy, the Premier said.
Upon completion, the project would promote a substantial price cut in related domestic petrochemical industries and provide a larger space for the growth of downstream small and medium-sized enterprises. It would also play a bigger role in driving forward the textile industry and domestic manufacturing industries, such as the fashion industry, in the Yangtze River Delta region and even hinterlands of the Yangtze River, he added.
Premier Li said it is crucial for the government to issue policies appealing to private enterprises. Efforts should be made to further cut administrative approval items, widen market access to private enterprises, and encourage and support them to enter infrastructure construction and basic industries while ensuring fair competition.
“I have to repeat again the project’s safety and quality must be absolutely guaranteed,” he said to Li Shuirong.
Recently, private and foreign participants have flowed into the petrochemical industry, which has been monopolized by State-owned enterprises for a long time.
Months ago, BASF SE in Germany invested 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion) in a solely owned industrial base for fine chemical engineering in China, and ExxonMobil invested $10 billion in a wholly owned petrochemical project in China.
Premier Li reiterated that it is the Chinese government’s responsibility to provide a level-playing field for all types of enterprises, whether they are State-owned, private or foreign-invested enterprises.
