Let me talk about the quality of oil products in China as well

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I often see some netizens posting comments about the poor quality of vehicle fuel in China compared to that in foreign countries, but there are no data or facts to back up such claims. It’s likely they’ve never even seen what foreign gasoline looks like; they probably just copy content from the comments of liberal arts students. This isn’t really the netizens’ fault; I’m merely offering you some friendly advice – you might not be aware of the difficulties faced by China’s oil refining industry. China is actually a country with limited oil resources. Even after the discovery of oil fields in Daqing, Shengli, and Xinjiang, the ratio between production and consumption shows that it remains a country with scarce oil resources – this is an undeniable fact. It was only during the period of imperialist blockade against our country that we had fewer vehicles, so there was enough fuel, and even a surplus. Since the 1990s, as China’s infrastructure developed and its economy grew faster, especially during Zhu Rongji’s tenure when it was mistakenly decided to make the development of passenger cars a key industry, China’s oil supply, particularly fuel oil, began to decline in quantity and increase in price. The country shifted from being an oil exporter to an importer, with the import ratio now exceeding 50%. This has placed pressure on those who own cars in China. First, let’s look at the relationship or connection between China’s refining capacity and level and fuel oil. China’s current crude oil processing capacity exceeds 500 million tons per year, making it the second-largest country in terms of oil refining and petroleum product production. Starting with China’s crude oil, domestic production is really low; it can only be described as just sufficient to meet basic needs. As for imported crude oil, it’s not that we can’t afford high-quality crude; rather, the average Chinese citizen might not be able to afford it in the end. China has no say whatsoever in determining the price of crude oil – that is something decided by OPEC and the imperialists. China wants to join OPEC, but that’s not possible. So, in order to reduce costs, we buy inferior crude oils with low yield of light oil, as well as high acid and sulfur content, to use in refining; yet their price is likely not much lower than that of standard crude oils (there are several standards for pricing crude oils in the market, and these standards are controlled by OPEC and imperialists). The key indicators for the quality of crude oil are as follows: light oil yield, sulfur content, acid value, water content, metal content, nitrogen content, etc. How is good vehicle fuel oil produced, or in other words, how is it refined? It works like this: first, the lighter fractions of crude oil are distilled out (through atmospheric and vacuum distillation), and then further processing is carried out to lighten the heavier oils (via catalytic cracking, thermal cracking, coking, and hydrocracking). The oil produced in this way is not a pure hydrocarbon; it contains impurities that are harmful to the environment and to vehicles. Therefore, refining is necessary, which involves removing these harmful impurities primarily through hydrogenation. However, automotive gasoline requires good combustion properties, and it is necessary to modify or improve its quality by carrying out processes such as reforming and isomerization. This is the aspect related to oil. However, there are also some lighter gases in the processing process (such as liquefied gas); we don’t want to waste them as ordinary household fuels, so these gases are processed and converted into components for vehicle gasoline, through processes such as alkylation, MTBE production, and light hydrocarbon reforming, in order to obtain more high-octane vehicle gasoline. Due to the poor quality of crude oil during these processing steps, we have to increase the refining costs, and there is also more waste. Based on my work experience at the Research Institute of Petrochemical Sciences and my understanding of the refining industry in recent years, it is the case that many of the processes and catalysts used for processing heavy and low-quality oils originate from China. Why is that? Forced by foreign powers. If the introduction of clean fuels in China is delayed for a few years, and there’s no rush to adopt standards such as National IV or National V, the cost of refining fuel may remain low; in that case, people will have to tolerate lower-quality fuel for several more years, as well as a situation where the environmental conditions do not improve. Next, let’s talk about the relationship between oil product standards and oil product quality. Regarding oil product standards, due to historical and technical reasons, the establishment of such standards is often carried out by imperialists and their allies; even the instruments used to determine whether oil products meet the required standards are monopolized by these ruthless powers. But for China to develop and sustain its existing automobile industry while also making profits, the design and manufacturing of vehicles must meet standards and specifications that require the use of relatively higher-quality gasoline; otherwise, such vehicles won’t be able to be sold. Those who own cars can imagine: would you be willing to buy another car powered by an engine similar to those in the old Jiefang models, or by an engine of the same type as those in the old Shanghai models? Sure, I don’t want to. Furthermore, China’s capacity for developing gasoline production technologies has completely lost its ability to engage in independent innovation and development since it introduced foreign production lines; as a result, we are forced to rely on private companies like Geely and BYD to carry out such challenging tasks. If there were a market where all car owners purchased vehicles designed and manufactured in China, it would be entirely possible for China to establish its own standards for cars and vehicle fuels. However, there are too few cars of Chinese origin; without a sufficient volume, true qualitative change cannot occur, and it is therefore impossible to set one’s own standards and regulations. This is the case with fuel oil, the same goes for lubricating oils, and it’s the same with emission standards. Don’t blame China’s three major refineries; they are actually helpless as well. Then let’s analyze what the oil quality standards are. Some netizens have compared a bottle of so-called foreign gasoline with Chinese gasoline; I can only say that those who believe in such comparisons or make them at all do not understand the relationship between oil refining and the quality of gasoline. The color of oil does not accurately reflect its quality, as there are many factors that determine its color; the most obvious one is the time it has been stored, especially the duration it has been exposed to air. A light color may indicate good quality of the oil, but it could also be due to low-quality oil that has just been taken from the production unit and has not undergone any color change (such as stabilized gasoline from catalytic cracking). Also, those who compare the two types of bottles – how do they bring gasoline from abroad to China? Do they bring it in using pure water bottles as if they were drinks? Both gasoline and diesel are produced by blending different types of oils. However, it cannot be denied that some smaller refineries, as well as companies or individuals involved in the blending of oils, may add inferior components without affecting the quality standards of the gasoline. This does not apply to the three major oil companies; I believe that these companies, along with some large local refineries, enforce strict quality controls, as oil quality is regulated, and regular or irregular inspections are carried out. Samples are also kept for future verification in case of any disputes. There must be cases of people casually claiming to have mixed inferior oil with high-quality one in order to cheat, but that is a human issue and has nothing to do with **standards or large oil refining companies. By \"human issues,\" I mean two types of people: those who sell the oil and those who buy it. Finally, let’s talk about the particularities of fuel oil for vehicles. Vehicle fuel is a commodity that is consumed immediately, and in some areas, issues may arise in the vehicle due to the inherent quality of the fuel, the time and conditions under which it is stored, differences among individual vehicles, and even the quality of the fuel used in previous fill-ups. The occurrence of problems does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with the tank of fuel you are using; this is something those who drive vehicles need to understand. If you won’t be using your vehicle for an extended period, either empty the fuel tank and fill it with nitrogen to seal it, or fill the tank with high-quality vehicle fuel until it overflows to ensure sealing. When restarting the vehicle, clean the fuel tank once with standard-compliant fuel. When refueling your car regularly, try to choose gas stations with reliable quality; those frequented by local taxis are likely to have satisfactory quality as well. Another point is those who complain that the fuel for cars in China is too expensive. If we consider China’s national conditions objectively, I’m not speaking on behalf of anyone, but I have to say the truth: if you can afford to buy a horse but not the fodder to feed it, it’s better to sell the horse. Oil prices in China have been high for many years now – over 20 years already. You only start to realize how expensive gasoline is once you get in your car; that’s because your sense of perception is too dull. We’re not very familiar with some political matters, but why don’t you seem to notice the economic situation resulting from politics?