New Opportunities for China-Arab Cooperation, Focusing on Petrochemical and New Energy Investment
SUMMARY
Oil, gas, and chemical feedstock are the cornerstones of China-Gulf trading. In Jan-Nov 2022, China imported 191.74 million tonnes of crude oil from the GCC countries, accounting for 41.7% of its total crude imports. The share of GCC sources increased by 2.3 percentage points compared with the same period in 2021.
In terms of trading value, crude oil, LNG, and chemical feedstocks accounted for 75.3%, 5.9%, and 10.4% respectively of China's imports of 191.3 billion USD commodities from the GCC countries from January to November 2022.
Since the petrochemical complex JV in Fujian with Sinopec was established in 2007, Saudi Aramco has been actively exploring other refining and chemical projects in China. Recently proposed investment projects include Panjin Petrochemical, Zhejiang Petrochemical, and Yulong Petrochemical. China proposed to develop the CNY settlement of oil and gas trade with the GCC countries, but no substantial progress and deals have been made so far. Given Chinese capital account has not been fully liberalized, the effort of CNY internationalization can take more roles in the real economy, trading, and investment.
Arab countries are important destinations for China's foreign direct investment and engineering projects. Under the trend of green transition, new energy and new infrastructure have become fresh growth for China's investment in Arab countries. China's annual outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the GCC countries increased from 510 million USD in 2017 to 1.66 billion in 2021, and its proportion increased from 1% to 3-4% in 2020-2021.
Saudi Arabia in Efforts to Expand Petrochemical Investment in China
Oil, Gas, Chemical Feedstocks are the Cornerstones of China-Gulf Trade
China's Broad FDI Potential in GCC Countries
Appendix: China's Energy Investments in GCC Countries
Written by the GL Consulting team (Mysteel's consultancy arm on energy transition): glconsulting@mysteel.com
Edited by Navy Liu: liuchuanjun@mysteel.com
Winter Air Pollution Control Resumed with a Milder Policy Approach
Nov 06, 2023 09:54
MIIT Rolled Out Plans for Stabilizing Growth in Ten Key Industries
Oct 30, 2023 14:16
12 Provinces Set to Exceed National Non-fossil Energy Goal by 2025
Feb 24, 2023 11:20