A1 As a multinational company firmly committed to this dynamic market for many years, BASF has benefited from the country's constantly optimized business environment, more streamlined approval procedures, and broader market access.

The BASF Guangdong Verbund site is a vivid example. The successful landing of such projects would not have been possible without the government's policies to widen market access and improve the business environment. We look forward to the implementation of more government measures and policies that incentivize low-carbon technologies and products to promote a circular economy.

A2 At BASF, we believe that the chemical industry greatly contributes to the high-quality development of society. Innovations have made BASF the leading chemical company today. Our innovative power is based on effective and efficient research and development. In China, BASF operates the largest R&D site for BASF in the region－Innovation Campus Shanghai covering a wide range of topics with more than 700 scientists and around 750 R&D employees.

A3 BASF is aiming for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. One of the most critical new technologies is to replace steam with renewable electricity to produce essential chemicals, thereby significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These chemicals produced are building blocks for numerous value chains, making this technology crucial for sustainable chemical production. In addition, the company has also secured 100 percent renewable power for its first plants. All these levers will contribute to the Guangdong Verbund site having the lowest projected carbon dioxide emissions in the world.

A4 Talking about the partnership, the best example will be BASF-YPC, a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and Sinopec. It is one of the most successful JVs of BASF globally since the JV's establishment in 2000.

In the battery materials sector, last year BASF announced the creation of a JV to produce CAM(cathode active material) and precursors with Shanshan, a leading lithium-ion battery materials supplier in China. With this collaboration, BASF will further contribute to accelerating the transformation of the transportation industry towards electro-mobility.

A5 Today, the majority of our products supplied to Chinese customers are produced locally. Moreover, we are conducting extensive local R&D activities to support local champions to advance their innovation edge. The continued investments into production capacity and R&D resources in China allow BASF to further enhance collaboration with Chinese partners.