As part of this new look-West policy, CNOOC now has four non-Chinese members on its board of directors. The fourth, Evert Henkes, was appointed only last week. Henkes appointment, being a retired Royal Dutch/Shell oilman, has been linked to the fact that the Anglo-Dutch company currently invests more than $US2 billion in joint ventures with its China counterpart.

However, this practice of appointing foreigners on the board of Chinese companies has had its critics with the question raised on whether or not these foreign appointees provide any extra value to the companies in question.