BASF opened a new mega-plant in the Chinese coastal city of Zhanjiang on March 26. German Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche delivered a video greeting, noting that it is very important for Germany to have stable and predictable economic relations with China: “Our cooperation takes on special significance, particularly in turbulent and uncertain times,” she said. This demonstrates just how closely key German industries are intertwined with China, despite all the debates about excessive dependence on the Chinese market. BASF has invested nearly €9 billion in the site, making it the largest single investment in the company’s history.
Spanning a full 4 sq km, this is now BASF’s third-largest Verbund (integrated, but separate locations) site, after Ludwigshafen and Antwerp. It features state-of-the-art facilities and its own deepwater port, through which BASF can source raw materials from the global market for production at its Verbund site. If exports are to take place, they will be exclusively to Southeast Asia.
