Siemens, BASF Sign Accords with Chinese

Siemens and Chinese state-owned SPIC agreed July 9 to explore technology collaboration in heavy-duty gas turbines.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Berlin to target cooperation in this sector; Siemens would also become State Power Investment Corporation's potential partner for development of own generation of heavy-duty gas turbines. The MoU was signed by Siemens CEO Joe Kaiser and SPIC chairman Qian Zhimin, in the presence of German chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Le Keqiang during his official visit to Germany. 

Siemens said that the MoU defines scope and principles of cooperation between the two companies: "Under the MoU, Siemens intends to support SPIC to conduct research and development for heavy-duty gas turbines and provide training and technical consultation for SPIC. This cooperation leverages Siemens technology leadership in support of China’s goal to independently develop and build an own heavy-duty gas turbine. The signing today will expedite finalisation of a technology cooperation agreement in the near future." Moreover this was not the only high-level business agreement signed July 9 during the visit. 

German chemicals giant BASF CEO Martin Brudermuller and Lin Shaochun, executive vice governor of Guangdong Province, signed a non-binding MoU according to which the Verbund site in Guangdong might eventually become the third-largest BASF chemicals manufacturing site worldwide, after its giant sites in Ludwigshafen in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium. Investment is estimated to reach up to US$10bn by completion of the Guangdong project around 2030, with first plants completed by 2026 at the latest, if the MoU were firmed up. The feedstock for the unit would be ethylene (an oil-derived petrochemical) rather than ethane (a by-product of natural gas production that is the basis of a lot of recent US investment in chemicals).

Germany is already a significant exporter to China, with a positive trade balance with the giant Asian economy. Relations are improving at time when the US is engaged with a tariff war against Beijing.