China’s newest oil refiners are thriving by aligning themselves with President Xi Jinping’s vision, expanding even as their older rivals and several other private businesses have been reined in by Beijing.
These newcomers have gained the moniker "Teapot 2.0" in China, and are benefiting because they are fitting into Xi’s push for cleaner industries and greater energy efficiency.
Still little known in international trading circles, companies such as Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. and Hengli Petrochemical Co. are now poised to become more influential in global markets. They’ve built vast refining complexes that are more environmentally conscious and focused on using crude to make plastics and chemicals instead of more polluting fuels such as diesel. As a result, some are starting to receive tax benefits or permissions to import larger amounts of crude directly from big producers such as Saudi Arabia.