An arbitration over fees paid between Sinopec Group and its agent on its 2005 bid for a major Kazakhstan oil asset provides rare details about Beijing's intervention in state firms' overseas acquisitions. Photo: Reuters An arbitration over fees paid between Sinopec Group and its agent on its 2005 bid for a major Kazakhstan oil asset that ended up being bought by fellow state-owned China National Petroleum Corp has provided rare details about Beijing's intervention in state firms' overseas acquisitions.