Industrial gas provider Praxair (China) Investment Company has set up a joint venture in Guangzhou with the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation; and this is the first alliance between the two companies.

U.S. based Afton Chemical Corporation is opening a new facility in Shanghai in early 2009.

Intertek, an international provider of quality, safety, testing and inspection services, has been awarded ISO 17025 accreditation by the China National Accreditation Service for five laboratories in China.

A report from Tootoo.com states that Chinese manufacturers are having to raise the prices of ink boxes due to the long term trend towards rising oil prices.

Liaoning Province will close over 200 small paper-making plants along the Liaohe River basin this year and try to remove the stinky smell from 10 branches of the Liaohe River over the next three years.