How to invest in the Chinese market by multinational chemical giants

There is no doubt that the Chinese market is a fatal attraction. For global chemical giants such as BASF, Bayer, Invista, Lanxess and Praxair, the market seems to have endless scope for imagination.
The rapid growth of China's petroleum and chemical industry for more than 30 years has been accompanied by the process of multinational chemical enterprises from simply exporting products, to establishing offices, to building factories, to establishing wholly-owned and joint-venture companies, and then to systematic localization. Together with their many partners in China, they have promoted the continuous development and prosperity of the entire chemical industry.
But in 10, 20, even 30 years' time, will the multinational chemical companies really "read" China? The real answer is clearly somewhere between yes and no. The only certainty is always change. The days when chemical giants were welcomed with flowers, champagne and red carpets are surely over.
There is no better description of the mindset of multinational chemical companies in China than "crossing the river by feeling the stones". But it is hard for foreign companies to go beyond the stage where Chinese companies themselves have to feel their way across the river. And -- for more than 30 years, many businesses rolled into the river without touching a stone.
The industrial process here can be rapid, and the changes in policies, partners, competitors, and technology can be dizzying. The Chinese market still sometimes confuses multinational chemical companies, and the standard Porter's Five Forces analysis and Boston Matrix are no match for Sun Tzu's art of war and conventional wisdom. Even if they are well-versed in the speeches of Chinese leaders, even if they are well-versed in "Chinese characteristics", the pressure and risks faced by some chemical giants are obviously no less than the expectations brought by the opportunity.
Management professor Juan Antonio Fernandez has long studied the Chinese business environment. In Guanxi, he likens the relationship between multinational companies and their Chinese partners (officials, clients, buyers) to a certain degree. Like a couple of dance partners, the male partner always wants to dance too fast while the female partner is cautious. Keeping pace with China's business environment can be a tough lesson -- even for some multinational chemical companies.
Then, for the chemical giants who have deeply cultivated China's local market and gained competitive position here, what opportunities and risks do they see in the face of the new normal, new policies, new environment and new competitors? In response, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association conducted a survey, and they obtained valuable first-hand information through full communication with more than a dozen senior executives of multinational companies such as BASF, Dow and Bayer.
Although the strategies, markets and investment strategies of different enterprises vary greatly, their opinions and judgments also have obvious convergence. Generally speaking, they can be summed up as follows: the importance of the Chinese market is beyond doubt, the investment in the most Chinese markets in the future is basically maintained at the same level, but the concern about industrial overcapacity is increasing; Energy demand, water resources, urbanization, demographic changes and motorization may bring profound changes to the industry; A more market-oriented focus on cost control, profitability, value growth, and research and development; Full of expectations for the market-oriented reform of chemical industry, full of aspirations for a more fair and free market environment.