By then, all production lines in the first phase of Sinopec Yizheng's meltblown nonwoven fabric production project had been completed and entered production. The total daily production capacity reached 12 metric tons, and the lines had manufactured a total of 132.5 tons of high-quality meltblown nonwovens from March 29 to April 28, which made it possible to increase the output of standard medical masks by 132.5 million pieces. Following the four meltblown nonwoven fabric production lines entering operation at Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Co, Sinopec's total daily production capacity for meltblown nonwovens totaled 24 tons.

The conglomerate, one of the three largest oil and gas companies in China as well as a leading supplier of medical raw materials, earlier responded by turning itself into a leading company for meltblown nonwoven fabrics, the essential raw material used in surgical masks, in a bid to fill the supply gap.

Wu Gangliang, a researcher at the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said that Sinopec, as a representative of central State-owned enterprises, has been playing an important role in the country's fight against the contagion. Its large asset scale, advanced production technologies and abundant resources enable it to undertake rapid production shifts.

"In addition, the conglomerate's Party Leadership Group, as a standing body of SOEs, functions as a command department during special times. When the contagion broke out, SOEs' Party committees could directly implement the country's 'wartime mission', quickly relocating resources and production capacity to shift to medical material production, so as to guarantee supplies," Wu said.

Sun Wenhua, director of the committee of experts of the agricultural chamber of commerce under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said that when the pandemic is over, China's energy SOEs should think of innovative modes of development, such as the exploration of new energy, to give full play to its resource advantages in the long run.