The prospects of China-Arab oil and gas cooperation are promising-China and Arab countries have invested in each other on a considerable scale

The prospects of China-Arab oil and gas cooperation are promising

-China and Arab countries have invested in each other on a considerable scale

02 China and Arab countries have invested in each other on a considerable scale

In addition to oil and gas trade, China and Arab countries’ energy cooperation has expanded to all links of the energy industry chain, and is constantly expanding beyond the energy industry. According to the data of China’s Ministry of Commerce and relevant industry organizations, as of May 2022, China’s investment scale in the Arab world has accumulated to 213.9 billion US dollars, mainly concentrated in energy, transportation and real estate sectors, of which more than 1/5 of the investment is in Saudi Arabia.

Among the many Chinese energy investment projects in Arab countries, the most representative one is the Yanbu refinery project invested by Sinopec in Saudi Arabia. China National Petroleum Corporation has more than ten engineering projects under construction and operation in Saudi Arabia, including exploration and development and pipeline construction. China National Petroleum Corporation has become the largest foreign investor in Iraq, participating in the investment and operation of the Ahdab project, the Halfaya project, the Rumaila project and the West Qurna project, and providing a large number of engineering technology, engineering construction, material equipment, logistics support and other services for Iraq.

At the same time, Arab countries have invested in many Chinese projects, involving fields such as automobiles, biomedicine, mining, household appliances, media and e-commerce, among which the energy sector is the most representative. For example, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, has invested in several large-scale refiningOil and Gas and chemical projects in China. In March 2023, Saudi Aramco invested in Rongsheng Petrochemical, China’s largest private petrochemical enterprise, as a strategic investor, with an amount of 24.6 billion yuan.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the most important political and economic organization in the Gulf region. The GCC was established in 1981, with its headquarters in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and its member states include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. According to a report by S&P Global, the sovereign wealth funds of the GCC countries have reached 4 trillion US dollars, accounting for 37% of the world. In 2022, among the top ten sovereign wealth funds in the world, five are from GCC countries.

According to the statistics of industry organizations, as of August 31, 2023, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds represented by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Kuwait Investment Authority appeared in the top ten shareholders of 62 Chinese A-share listed companies. In early September 2023, Mubadala Investment Company officially set up an office in Beijing, increasing its investment in China.