The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
China’s Premier attends Boao Forum
China’s Premier Li Qiang attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in the country’s southernmost island province of Hainan.
In his keynote address, Li said China is committed to innovation-driven development.
He stressed that China will not only inject new impetus into the world economy but also share opportunities and dividends with other countries.
This year’s forum was entirely physical, running under the theme “An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development Amid Challenges”.
China-Saudi Arabia mega chemical project kicks off
The construction of a major petrochemical and fine chemical refinery, a joint investment initiative between China and Saudi Arabia, commenced on Wednesday in the city of Panjin, Liaoning province, China.
The total investment of the project is 83,7 billion yuan (about US$12,2 billion).
Saudi Arabian oil group (Aramco) holds a 30 percent stake in the project, while China’s North Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation and Panjin XinCheng Industrial Group hold 51 and 19 percent, respectively.
The joint venture resulted in the formation of Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO).
It is expected to become a world-class petrochemical and fine chemical industry base in China.
The project will be completed in 2025 and is expected to have an annual oil refining capacity of 15 million tonnes.
It is also expected to have an annual production capacity of 1,65 million tonnes of ethylene and 2 million tonnes of p-xylene (PX), which are used in the manufacturing of various products.
China’s new nuclear power unit starts operations
A new nuclear power unit using Hualong One, a Chinese domestically designed third-generation nuclear reactor, was put into operation in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
This paves way for commercial operation.
The new reactor takes the China General Nuclear Power Corporation’s nuclear power units to 27, with an installed capacity of more than 30 000 megawatts.
It is estimated that after the first and second phases of the nuclear power project are completed, China will be able to meet its annual power demand while reducing the consumption of standard coal by over 10,4 million tonnes.
BYD reports net profit surge
China’s leading New Energy Vehicle (NEV) manufacturer BYD Company Limited reported a surge in both revenue and net profit for the year 2022.
Its net profit stood at 16,62 billion yuan (about US$2,4 billion) up 445,86 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s annual report released on Tuesday.
Its revenue soared 96,2 percent to roughly 424 billion yuan (about US$61,2 billion) last year.
The report shows BYD ranked first in global NEV sales in 2022.
The company had a domestic NEV market share of 27 percent last year, up nearly 10 percentage points from 2021.
In 2022, BYD accelerated the development of its overseas markets, with its new energy passenger cars entering markets like Australia, Japan, and Brazil.
China launches Artificial Intelligence for Science project
China has launched Artificial Intelligence for Science, a project aimed at promoting the use of AI in frontier sci-tech research.
Jointly launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the project will focus on key problems in basic disciplines, as well as research needs in key sci-tech fields.
Under the project, the ministry will promote the innovation of AI models and algorithms for major scientific problems, develop several platforms for typical research fields and accelerate the construction of a national open innovation platform for the new generation of AI public computing power.
*Manyika Kangai has over 15 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals.
