By John Richardson ON THE surface of things there will be no let up when China’s winter air pollution campaign ends in March, as I predicted would be the case. China is drawing up plans for tougher curbs on smog levels during the two years until 2020, with the details due to be released in […]
Asian Chemical Connections
How China’s OBOR Will Re-Order Global Petchems Value Chains
By John Richardson EVERY petrochemicals company needs to understand the above map and its implications for global trade flows over the next 20 years. Failure to understand and respond to what this map is telling you would be a very costly error. Let’s start with understanding what One Belt, One Road actually means: The One […]
China Govt Confirms Post-CNY Labour Shortages
The great news behind rising labour costs: Shan Dalin, pictured with his family, is a crane operator from Southwest China’s Guizhou province who has worked in eastern Zhejiang province for 10 years. In 2012, Shan’s monthly income rose to 2,800 yuan ($449) from lower than 2,000 yuan in 2008. [Photo/Xinhua] By John Richardson The […]
China Polyethylene Sentiment Recovers
By John Richardson CHINA’S polyethylene (PE) market is enjoying a mini-rebound on improved confidence in the ability of politicians to turn the economy around, the blog has been told. There seems to be a feeling out there that more help is on the way for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The SMEs, which make […]
China’s Labour Complications
Source: Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy in Beijing, from an article published in the China Economic Quarterly. By John Richardson ONE of the explanations for China’s disappointing petrochemicals demand growth during 2012 is that even where export-focused factories in southern and eastern China can find sufficient orders to run […]
Even the goldfish will get it
Tigers, flooding, Lehman Brothers, New Scientist, Guangdong, climate change, global warming, goldfish brains