In its 10th Five-Year (2001-05) Plan for the development of petrochemical industry, the Chinese State Economic and Trade Commission designed the guiding principles and development targets, as well as key development areas for the petrochemical industry in the coming five years.

According to the plan, China's petrochemical industry will closely follow the world's development trends in the industry, carry out major restructuring efforts to improve competitiveness, and give priority to the development of oil refining and ethylene production.

In terms of corporate organization, China will mainly foster China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp and Sinochem, to develop them into large enterprise groups with powerful international competitiveness.

At the same time, loss-making and low-efficiency enterprises will be closed or restructured, so as to raise industrial concentration and rationalize industrial layout.

In terms of capital structure, China will continue to multipolarize sources of investment, accelerate the use of overseas capital, reinforce capital management, restructure corporate assets and improve investment efficiency.

It says that overseas resources will be adequately exploited while rationally developing domestic resources, and efforts will be made to ensure the security, stability and economy of crude oil import. The proportion of natural gas in energy structure will be increased.

It pointed out that, in accordance with China's resources, technological and market advantages, in the coming five years top priority to be given to improving refining level and the output of ethylene, including the construction of eight or nine refining bases with capacities of over 10 million tons each, and the construction of Shanghai and Yangtzi ethylene bases with output capacities of over one million tons each.

By the end of 1999, China's comprehensive crude oil refining capability was about 220 million tons, refined crude oil of 176 million tons and produced gas, kerosene and diesel of 105 million tons in 1999, basically meeting domestic demand.

In 1999, China's ethylene output capacity reached 4.42 million tons, and produced ethylene of 4.346 million tons, accounting for 46.4 percent of domestic market demand.

(Xinhua News Agency 06/27/2001)