'Dual circulation' to boost growth (I)

A1: In 2020, the world economy and social order saw great turbulence due to COVID-19. Through prevention and control measures at the early stage of the pandemic, the Chinese economy showed positive signs of recovery.

During the pandemic, China continued to work, diligently serving customers, and providing the market with essential materials necessary for fighting the pandemic. We also firmly supported the efforts of the community and society to help fight the pandemic through various donations and cooperation programs.

We achieved both year-over-year and sequential volume growth in China in the second and third quarter, which represented an outstanding performance for Dow.

A2: We paid close attention to China's dual circulation development pattern which emphasizes further unleashing domestic market potentials.

Dow had been in China for 41 years with well-structured manufacturing and service network here. Growing domestic market will further accelerate Dow's growth strategy in this market. Meanwhile, Dow will continue to introduce latest innovations to China. Further opening-up the market will help Dow and our partners get access to more business opportunities.

A3: All the measures China adopted to safeguard its economy and people's living were essential to ensure the economic and social stability of China. The Chinese government has spent tremendous efforts in helping the small businesses, the unemployed and ensuring the resilience of the supply chain, which all paved the way for the quick economic recovery. Dow has benefited from a series of policies which lessened our burden during the pandemic, for example the reduced social security fee payout rate. All the local governments in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Guangdong, where we have manufacturing sites, helped us resolve employee protection and logistics challenges to make sure Dow employees returned to work safely back in February and March last year.

A4: China's effective and successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic domestically and restoration of business activities nationwide contributed to its V-shape economic recovery since the later first quarter of last year. We appreciated the support from local governments which enabled Dow China team to quickly resume work and provide many essential supplies that China needed to fight the pandemic and ensure the supply chain stability. Our business in China for the most part returned to normal in the second quarter, and we also shared experiences and lessons we had in China to help protect our workforces in other countries and regions.

A5: China has entered a new development stage with an increased emphasis on high-quality growth which aligns with Dow's focus on innovation and sustainability. With hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers moving into mid-income class, there is a growing demand for high-quality products and solutions that are both innovative and sustainable. Dow has been introducing its world-class products and technologies to China since our first day in China and partnering with local customers and value chain partners to satisfy this demand trend.

A6: China is the largest international market for Dow, which is in the critical period of consumption upgrading, urbanization and sustainable development, and the demand for high value-added materials solutions is therefore increasing.

China is also transforming to play a leading role in many industrial sectors such as transportation, e-commerce, IoT, new energy, etc. All these market trends are in full line with Dow expertise and offering for markets.

We also recognize the growing efforts that the China government is paying on IP protection and business environment improvement with new legislations and regulations.

A7: Each five-year plan provides business community and international companies who operate in China with comprehensive guidance of development strategy and focuses in China. In addition to its emphasis in domestic market development, we are interested in the strategic industries that the plan spotlighted, such as new materials, new energy and high-end equipment, which are also focus markets for Dow and our customers. We expect detailed policies regarding further development of these markets and are keen to collaborate with our partners on advancing the transformation of these industries with innovative materials solutions.