BASF said in a statement it had completed the sale of its shares in Markor Chemical Manufacturing and Markor Meiou Chemical to the Singaporean group Verde Chemical.
The German group gave no financial details of the transaction, which was completed on Monday "following approval by the relevant authorities".
BASF had said in February 2024 it would accelerate its divestment from the joint ventures which manufacture the industrial chemical butanediol.
Plans to sell the shares had already been announced by BASF in 2023 in response to commercial and environmental concerns.
German public broadcaster ZDF and news magazine Der Spiegel had reported that staff of BASF's partner firm Markor were involved in rights abuses against members of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority.
Employees were alleged to have spied on Uyghur families and filed reports with Chinese authorities.
BASF said at the time it had no indication that employees of the joint ventures were involved in rights violations, only staff of its local partner.
Rights groups have long accused Beijing of a widespread crackdown on minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.
Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Xinjiang plants, BASF has been ramping up its presence in China while production costs in Europe are high.
The German group is in the process of building a new 10-billion-euro ($11.5-billion) chemical complex in the southern province of Guangdong.
China gives suspended death sentence to former Xinjiang official for corruption
Beijing (AFP) April 22, 2025 -
China has handed down a suspended death sentence to a former Xinjiang official for taking $112 million in bribes, a court announced on Tuesday.
The court in Baoji, Shaanxi province, said that Li Pengxin, former deputy secretary of the Communist Party committee in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, had amassed "especially huge sums" by abusing various official positions between 1999 and 2023, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
He provided assistance to "units and individuals in mineral exploitation, business operations, cadre appointments, and other matters" in return for bribes, CCTV said.
The court found Li's crimes were "especially grave", while the "social impact was particularly vile".
His execution was stayed because of his confession and cooperation with investigators, but his life sentence will not be commuted.
Li served as deputy party secretary in the western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from 2016 to 2021 after stints in Qinghai province and Inner Mongolia.
He was first investigated for corruption in 2023.
President Xi Jinping has overseen a wide-ranging campaign against official corruption since coming to power more than a decade ago, with critics saying it also serves as a way to purge political rivals.
Li's time in Xinjiang coincided with a ramping up of surveillance and control aimed at the region's Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
Rights groups have accused China's ruling Communist Party of committing grievous human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in what the United States and lawmakers in some other countries have called a "genocide".
Beijing vociferously denies the allegations, arguing that its policies in Xinjiang have helped to curb religious extremism and boost economic development.
Related Links
News From Across The Stans
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
