- Focus spans materials, logistics and global expansion
- Deal also covers AI, sustainability and operations
Zhejiang’s Transfer Group, a Chinese chemicals giant, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BASF in Shanghai on April 15, expanding collaboration across chemicals, materials and supply chains as both companies seek to strengthen their positions in a shifting global market.
The agreement establishes a long-term procurement partnership and outlines joint work in areas including crop protection, battery materials, coatings and green chemical logistics, alongside plans to build a “green innovation platform” anchored in Transfer’s technology hubs.
Transfer traces its origins to a small workshop in Xiaoshan, now a district of Hangzhou, where founder Xu Chuanhua and his son Xu Guanju began producing liquid soap using borrowed funds and improvised equipment, delivering products by bicycle.
The company has since grown into a diversified industrial group spanning chemicals, logistics and advanced materials, with leading positions in segments such as textile chemicals and rare earth butadiene rubber, a key material used in high-performance tires for electric vehicles.
Public records show that Transfer is now the largest supplier for rare earth butadiene rubber in both China and Asia, holding more than 70% of the domestic market.
During the signing on April 15, both sides also pledge to deepen international coordination by combining BASF’s global network with Transfer’s domestic industrial base, targeting growth in emerging markets and closer integration across supply chains, technology development and talent training.
The partnership extends into digitalization and AI, as well as sustainability initiatives and operational management, reflecting a broader push among industrial groups to modernize production and reduce environmental impact.
