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A growth strategy for a Chinese state-owned enterprise: An interview with ChemChina's president

• BlueStar, China’s first industrial-cleaning company, was transformed into the nation’s largest chemical conglomerate—ChemChina, with $17.4 billion (121.8 billion renminbi) in revenue—through more than 100 acquisitions of state-owned companies.
• ChemChina has expanded aggressively overseas by purchasing Adisseo, Qenos, and other companies to obtain technology, management expertise, capital, and access to markets.
• In an interview, Ren Jianxin, ChemChina’s president and the former president of BlueStar, discusses the expectations of the private-equity firm Blackstone, which invested $600 million in the company in 2007; the global challenges it faces; and its daunting dual role of creating both shareholder value and jobs.