What’s new: Sinopec Group has a new chairman, as the Chinese state-owned refined oil titan officially appointed Ma Yongsheng to the role at an executive meeting Tuesday, four months after the position became vacant.
Sixty-year-old Ma, the general manager of China Petrochemical Corp, better known as Sinopec Group, has been acting chairman since his predecessor Zhang Yuzhuo became Communist Party secretary in July. Ma has now relinquished the general manager role.
Ma is an oil industry veteran and geological exploration specialist who joined the company in 1998 and went on to become general manager of Sinopec Exploration Co. in 2007. He was named general manager of Sinopec Group in 2019, after he was appointed chairman of Sinopec Group’s main listed unit, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the previous year.
Background: The listed unit announced at its annual meeting this year that it aims to reach carbon neutrality in 2050, a decade ahead of China’s national goal. It also announced plans to become the largest hydrogen energy company in the country, with a goal to install 1,000 new hydrogen refueling stations nationwide by 2025.
At the end of 2020, China had 101 hydrogen refueling stations in operation, based on calculations by hydrogen energy research institute The Orange Group.
During this year’s “Two Sessions,” Ma, who is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, submitted a proposal focused on China’s need to develop its nascent hydrogen industry as a means to achieving national energy security.
Contact reporter Manyun Zou (manyunzou@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
