China’s Sinochem boss hits out at anti-globalisation forces after US puts state firm on watch list
- Sinochem Group chairman Ning Gaoning says US sanctions put ‘political purposes ahead of economic ones’ and ‘are unfavourable to the whole world’
- The company and 10 other Chinese firms were blacklisted by the Pentagon last week because they are ‘owned or controlled’ by the People’s Liberation Army
The chairman of one of China’s largest state-owned multinational conglomerates has said his belief in free trade has been shaken by the fast deteriorating US-China relationship, just days after the Trump administration placed his company on a blacklist that may lead to sanctions.
Ning is the chairman and Communist Party chief at Sinochem Group and ChemChina, two state-owned chemical giants that are in the process of merging.
Anti-globalisation and populism put political purposes ahead of the economy through means like sanctions … and the practice is very unfavorable to the whole world
“Anti-globalisation and populism put political purposes ahead of the economy through means like sanctions … and the practice is very unfavorable to the whole world,” said Ning, without directly addressing the Pentagon designation.
While inclusion on the list does not trigger punishment, a 1999 law that mandates compilation of the list says the US president may impose sanctions, including blocking access to American property of the listed parties.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Ning said he was “brainwashed” by the free trade concept promoted by the World Trade Organisation and had taken it for granted that technology imports, exports and outbound investment were positive.
“But now all these thoughts have changed,” said the business leader, who received an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business and has spent his career turning state firms into powerful market players.
Ning, who has also served as president of China Resources Group and China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation, has a track record of expanding the balance sheets of state enterprises through mergers and acquisitions. He is also a senior Communist Party official who was elected to the powerful discipline committee in 2012.
Beijing has been trying to paint itself as an upholder of free trade and a victim of the Trump administration’s unilateral trade policies, although it is increasingly hard to convince big trading partners like the United States, Europe and Japan that China is a true market economy given its heavy state intervention and the large role of state-owned companies.
China has argued that state firms like China Resources and Sinochem can engage in fair market competition alongside private and foreign businesses.
The central government has said repeatedly it will not give up control of the state sector as “public ownership” is enshrined in China’s socialist market economy.
From the perspective of the businessman, it is best that political considerations … don’t affect business
Ning said China could survive on its own because home-grown companies had a huge domestic market.
“China has already taken off and there is no way to stop it,” Ning said.
Liu Yonghao, the founder and chairman of private-sector firm New Hope, the largest animal feed producer in China, said at the same event he hoped to see “stable and harmonious globalisation”.
“From the perspective of the businessman, it is best that political considerations … don’t affect business,” said Liu, whose rags-to-riches story amid China’s economic boom is often recounted in local media.
