Global Chemical Industry Reshaping: BASF Zhanjiang Integrated Site Fully Operational, China Becomes a "Must-Choose" for Foreign Investment

On March 26, on Donghai Island in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, the sea breeze swept across a modern industrial “jungle” covering approximately 4 square kilometers. Here, global chemical giant BASF officially announced that its integrated Zhanjiang base has achieved full commissioning. As China’s first large-scale petrochemical integration project built by a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, the Zhanjiang base is independently operated by BASF, with a total investment of as much as 8.7 billion euros.

At a time when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, international crude oil prices are fluctuating and trending upward, and the global petrochemical supply chain is facing severe tests, the full commissioning of this project is demonstrating its strategic value beyond the level of corporate investment.

BASF’s connection with Zhanjiang dates back to 2018. At that time, BASF announced that it would build an integrated production base in Guangdong, becoming the first wholly foreign-owned project in China’s heavy chemical industry. The project broke ground the following year; in 2022, the first set of units was commissioned to produce engineering plastics, followed by the commissioning of a thermoplastic polyurethane unit in 2024.

During the project construction process, BASF and its Chinese partners jointly created the remarkable “Zhanjiang Speed.” On March 26, 2026, this world-class base achieved full commissioning, marking a new phase in BASF’s strategic layout in China, the world’s largest chemical market.

To date, the base can produce more than 70 types of products, covering basic chemicals, intermediates, and specialty chemicals, serving industries such as transportation, consumer goods, electronics, home care, and personal care. The base has more than 2,000 employees, creating substantial employment opportunities and economic incremental value for the local area.

A “stabilizer” in an era of oil price volatility

The timing of the full commissioning of the Zhanjiang base coincides with a delicate moment of extreme fluctuations in the global energy market. International crude oil prices have surged rapidly, and upstream and downstream of the global petrochemical industry find themselves in a predicament of high costs and mounting pressure on the supply chain.

Against this backdrop, the commissioning of the Zhanjiang base is viewed in the industry as a “stabilizer.” At the commissioning ceremony, Cordinvin, a member of BASF’s Executive Board and Chief Technology Officer, introduced that the Zhanjiang base’s steam cracking unit adopts a mixed-feed mode, enabling flexible use of different types of cracking feedstocks, including naphtha and butane. Feedstocks can be sourced from international markets or supplied by domestic suppliers. “Overall production costs are highly advantageous,” Cordinvin said.

This feedstock flexibility is especially valuable at the moment. Traditional chemical plants often rely only on light naphtha, with a single source of feedstock and relatively weak ability to withstand risks. The Zhanjiang base can flexibly adjust the cracking feedstock mix, safeguarding stable product output while effectively resisting disruptions from external supply chains.

“For China, by China”: Deepening the localization strategy

The commissioning of the Zhanjiang base is a concentrated reflection of BASF’s strategy of “producing locally to serve local markets.”

At the commissioning ceremony, Lin Hanping, President of BASF’s Asia large projects, stated clearly: “We produce locally, and most of our products are also sold locally in China. In this way, we are able to provide reliable supply assurance for downstream customers, helping reduce customers’ dependence on imported products.”

A barometer for foreign capital: from an “optional item” to a “mandatory item”

BASF’s sizable investment is not an isolated case. At a regular press conference on March 26, He Yongqian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said: “Many multinational companies come to China to invest. What used to be an ‘optional item’ for allocating resources has been upgraded to a ‘mandatory item’ for strategic development.”

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