This year, BASF New Materials Co., Ltd., Yangtze River Delta Physics Research Center, and Beijing Weilan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing to jointly develop the next generation of solid-state battery specific battery pack technology. BASF Coatings Business Unit also signed a letter of intent with Chinese automaker NIO in M ü nster, Germany, aiming to establish a strategic partnership and strengthen cooperation in the field of automotive coatings. With the solid promotion of high-quality development in China, German chemical company BASF is deeply involved in the upstream and downstream cooperation of the Chinese industrial chain, promoting technological innovation and application in cutting-edge emerging fields. As an important foreign-funded enterprise in China's chemical industry, BASF has established a competitive production, marketing, technical services, and innovation network in China. Recently, our reporter visited BASF Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Innovation Park (hereinafter referred to as "BASF Pudong Base") and BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Base located in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, to experience BASF's positive actions in continuously cultivating the Chinese market, strengthening innovative research and development in China, and promoting the vigorous development of the chemical market in China and even globally. After 140 years of deep cultivation in China, we have continuously expanded our business layout and entered BASF's Pudong base located in Gaoqiao Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The modern research and development building and the yellow green industrial pipelines in the distance complement each other. Innovative solutions sprout from here, adding momentum to the sustainable development of the Chinese chemical market. As early as 1885, BASF sent representatives to China to initiate BASF's textile dye trade in the country. In the book "The Journey of Innovation - BASF and the Origins of China 1885", it is written that "China provides particularly attractive space for entrepreneurial spirit and investment." "BASF has been in the Chinese market for 140 years and has established stable and friendly cooperative relationships with its partners. Since the reform and opening up, BASF has encountered important opportunities for development in China, and has begun to increase its investment scale and continue to expand its business layout. ”BASF Greater China Chairman and President Lou Jianfeng told reporters. Taking BASF Pudong Base, the headquarters of BASF Greater China, as an example, in 1994, BASF established a joint venture with a Chinese company in Gaoqiao Town. Afterwards, the joint venture was transformed into a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF, and the product quality continued to improve. In 2012, BASF Shanghai Innovation Park was established; In 2015 and 2023, the second and third phases of Shanghai Innovation Park will be put into use respectively. The Shanghai Innovation Park has become BASF's largest research and development center in the Asia Pacific region. ”BASF Vice President and Head of Shanghai Innovation Park, Han Wei, said, "Over the past 10 years, BASF has invested approximately 280 million euros in Shanghai Innovation Park, with research and development activities covering advanced materials, chemical processes, catalysis, and digital research and development, and focusing on sustainable development innovation." BASF's Pudong base in Gaoqiao Town has been developing for more than 30 years, which is a microcosm of BASF's continuous expansion of its business layout in China. By the end of 2024, BASF has established 30 production bases in China, covering various fields such as chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, surface treatment technology, nutrition and care, and agricultural solutions. BASF's sales in the Chinese market exceed 13% of global sales. By the end of 2024, BASF and its partners will have invested approximately 17 billion euros in the Greater China region. ”Lou Jianfeng stated, "China is the world's largest chemical market. According to predictions, 70% of the global chemical industry's growth in the next 10 years will come from China. Faced with such a huge market size, we will continue to deeply cultivate the Chinese market, expand our business layout in China, meet the latest needs of various industries in China, and provide more sustainable and innovative products and solutions." BASF's largest overseas investment project, the BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Base with a total investment of about 10 billion euros, is currently under construction in the Donghai Island Petrochemical Industrial Park in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, with active support from the Chinese side. After completion, this will become BASF's third-largest global production base. The Chinese market holds significant strategic importance for BASF. ”BASF's President of Large Projects in Asia, Lin Hanping, said that China will continue to be a key market for the chemical industry in the future, and the integrated base in Zhanjiang will become an important platform for BASF to achieve profitability and sustainable growth in China, meeting the growing needs of customers. The BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Base project will include a steam cracking unit with a planned annual output of 1 million tons of ethylene, as well as multiple downstream product production units for the consumer market. At present, the first set of engineering plastic equipment and the first batch of thermoplastic polyurethane equipment have been put into operation. Lin Hanping said that the construction of BASF's integrated base in Zhanjiang has received strong support from governments at all levels. "The Guangdong Provincial Government has provided a lot of support in site selection, and the fact proves that Zhanjiang has geographical advantages and is an ideal location for the project. The Zhanjiang Municipal Government has done a lot of preliminary preparation work for us, allowing BASF to build the project according to the target schedule." In recent years, Zhanjiang City has attracted major foreign investment projects to settle down, relying on its unique geographical advantages, gradually improving infrastructure and a good business environment, becoming a microcosm of Guangdong and even the whole country expanding high-level opening up to the outside world and improving the level of utilizing foreign capital. The relevant person in charge of Zhanjiang City said in an interview with our reporter that Zhanjiang City invited authoritative experts in domestic petrochemical, chemical, hydrological, marine, environmental protection and other fields to form a work team in the early stage of project approval; Proactively coordinate with national and provincial departments to send working groups for on-site guidance, and promote coordinated efforts between urban and rural areas to tackle challenges. The Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone, where the project is located, implements electronic online review of BASF project planning drawings, departmental sharing and mutual recognition, reducing the need for project parties to travel back and forth. In addition, the large cargo terminal, as the main channel for transporting large equipment, components, and modules ashore during the construction of BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Base, is an indispensable supporting project for the construction of the integrated base. To ensure the smooth construction of the terminal, transportation and maritime departments in Zhanjiang actively responded to the needs of enterprises, tailored construction plans, and promoted the smooth completion and use of BASF's large cargo terminal as planned, reducing the transportation costs of raw materials and products for the chemical plant entering and leaving the factory by waterway. Committed to joint innovation and continuously increasing research and development investment, the innovative solid-state battery pack jointly launched by BASF, Yangtze River Delta Physics Research Center, and Beijing Weilan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. was unveiled at the 36th China International Rubber and Plastic Exhibition in 2024, which can help electric vehicles improve their performance in lightweight, thermal management, safety performance, and sustainability. At present, this solid-state battery pack is developing commercial opportunities in the Asian, European, and North American markets, which is expected to promote further development of the global electric vehicle industry. "In recent years, BASF has continued to increase its R&D investment in the Chinese market and improve its local innovation capability, especially in the rapidly growing fields of new energy vehicles, high-end manufacturing and renewable energy, and is committed to working with Chinese partners to innovate and win together. ”Han Wei stated that with the improvement of BASF's domestic research and development capabilities in China, "there are more and more solutions born in the Shanghai Innovation Park, constantly providing innovative products for customers in China and Asia. In February 2024, the integrated technology center of BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Base was officially put into use. Zhang Nan, Director of Development, Energy and Carbon Management at BASF China's New Integrated Base, stated that BASF has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with South China University of Technology, covering multiple fields such as technological innovation cooperation, deep integration of industry, academia and research, and talent cultivation. "The two sides will also take this cooperation as an opportunity to train more talents for the chemical industry and continue to play the core role of talents in the innovation field." Men Yongfeng, a researcher at the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a member of the BASF Asia Open Research Network. Researchers from Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry and BASF are jointly exploring the structure and properties of thermoplastic polyurethane, providing a foundation for further processing of thermoplastic polyurethane to meet different usage needs. Open research has established an effective communication channel between industry and academia, which helps to revise our research direction and promote research into the industrial process, "said Meng Yongfeng. The Asian Open Research Network is a platform for joint research between BASF and renowned universities and research institutes in the Asia Pacific region, aimed at promoting exchanges and cooperation between BASF R&D personnel and the academic community. Since the establishment of the Asian Open Research Network, BASF and its partners have completed approximately 200 joint research projects covering multiple fields such as sustainable materials, advanced processes, digitization, intelligent manufacturing, and solutions for new energy vehicles, "said Han Wei. BASF has over 12000 employees in China, with R&D personnel accounting for approximately 10%. ”Lou Jianfeng stated, "Faced with new formats and models in the Chinese chemical market, we are following the trend and introducing more cutting-edge materials and technologies." Han Wei believes that the continuous improvement of China's innovation capabilities and the rapid growth of young scientific and technological talents have further promoted scientific research exchanges. Regarding BASF's future development plans in China, Lou Jianfeng stated that China's industrial and supply chains remain stable and smooth, and the reserve of high-quality talents is increasingly abundant, which has boosted the confidence of many foreign-funded enterprises, including BASF. China is an important growth engine in the global chemical market and also an important market for BASF worldwide. With the steady progress of the construction of the Zhanjiang integrated base, we believe that BASF's development in China will usher in more opportunities. In the future, BASF will continue to deeply cultivate the Chinese market and share the dividends of high-quality and sustainable development in China