Dr. Hailong Xu is Country President for Sasol China.

He started his career with Royal Dutch Shell's R&D Centre in Amsterdam, first as an R&D project leader in the upstream sector and then as a technical consultant for downstream business. He was transferred to Shell China in 2002 to develop Shell's coal gasification licensing business. Later on he was responsible for developing clean coal equity business opportunities for Shell in China. His last position there was General Manager, New Business Development.

He has also worked for Russell Reynolds Associates as Executive Director, in charge of China energy business. In early 2009, he joined Sasol Synfuels International as Vice President, Government Relations and Public Affairs.

Dr. Hailong Xu obtained his first degree from the University of Science and Technology Beijing in 1986 and his PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London in 1992. In addition, he holds an MBA degree from Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands, and is a certified Six Sigma Blackbelt with GE Capital in Munich, Germany.