By the grey standards of China’s government-appointed chief executives, Fu Chengyu has some odd habits.
“People in China think I am strange because I do not drink tea. I like coffee,” says the CEO of state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Corporation in an interview. This week, the 54-year-old did something even more maverick than shunning China’s traditional national drink. After consuming many cups of coffee in an all-night board meeting, Mr Fu launched a $19.6bn unsolicited bid for Unocal, pitting CNOOC against Chevron, the US oil major, and incurring the wrath of US politicians.
