Quotable

China should further strengthen its supervision of private refiners that are granted import licenses, and suspend all refining projects that don't have government approval."

Li Yonglin, Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemicals General Manager, speaking on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

"China has been focusing on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We can also list a long string of alternatives, such as the World Trade Organization, the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and the China-US Bilateral Investment Treaty - and even unilateral liberalization. The issue is whether other alternatives can similarly yield the goals hoped to be realized by joining the TPP, or if another approach can help achieve the goals more easily and conveniently."

Jiang Shan, researcher at Center for China and Globalization, based in Beijing.

"The products we produce overseas account for only 10 percent of our sales. We hope to increase that fourfold in the next 10 years."

Liu Yonghao, chairman of Chinese conglomerate New Hope Group, explaining the plan to expand into developed countries and other international markets related to the Belt and Road Initiative to increase overseas sales in the coming decade.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/17/2017 page24)