The logo of the chemical company BASF is seen in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Feb 25, 2014.[Photo/dfic.cn]

BASF, the world's leading chemical company, will showcase its innovative plastics solutions at Chinaplas 2014, which will open in Shanghai on April 23, as part of efforts to push forward its expansion strategy in the Chinese market.

One such is the company's latest concept for car seats, which was developed in collaboration with AP Solutions, a Korean design and engineering agency in the automotive industry, said Frithjof Netzer, senior vice-president of BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd in performance chemicals.

Other exhibits will include innovative additives and an optimized process of manufacturing window profiles by replacing steel reinforcement with lightweight materials, Netzer added.

Local insiders said the innovation effort BASF has made is an impetus to its business expansion in the Chinese market.

BASF's Asian strategy places its focus on China, its third-largest global market after Germany and the United States, with sales here exceeding 5.48 billion eu ros ($7.6 billion) in 2013. The company's objective is to increase sales to 12 billion euros ($16.6 billion) in the Chinese market in 2020, Netzer said.

"China is a promising market which calls for innovative solutions to help improve automotive fuel efficiency, consumer product safety, buildings with better environmental performance and manufacturing efficiency," said Zheng Daqing, senior vice-president of BASF China in business and market development.

With its latest plastics solutions, BASF is able to collaborate with its customers on innovations developed in Asia-Pacific, to address challenges for Asia Pacific and the world, Zheng said.

BASF plans to invest 10 billion euros in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 for its strategy, nearly half of which will be spent in the Chinese market.

Andy Postlethwaite, senior vice-president of BASF Asia Pacific in performance materials, said efforts will be made to enhance new technologies and materials for plastics solutions by strengthening research and development capacity.

BASF will launch a research initiative at the Innovation Campus Asia Pacific in Shanghai this month, together with seven leading universities and research institutes from China, Japan and South Korea.

"Its initial focus will be placed on R&D of products for the automotive, construction, water and wind energy industries," said Postlethwaite, adding that similar initiatives will be also launched in Europe and North America .