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Saudi Arabia, China vow to boost energy cooperation

Saudi Arabia and China vowed to boost their cooperation in the energy field, as a cornerstone of their strategic partnership. The two countries stressed the importance of stability in the world oil markets, in a Friday joint statement.

 

Saudi Arabia is China’s top oil supplier, making up 18% of the country;s total crude oil purchases, with imports totalling 73.54 million tonnes (1.77 million barrels a day) in the first 10 months of 2022, worth $55.5 billion, according to Chinese customs data.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday highlighted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summit meetings in the Saudi capital.

 

At the invitation of King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the country from Wednesday to Friday.

 

Saudi Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Shandong Energy Group to explore collaboration on integrated refining and petrochemical opportunities in China. 

The agreement was made during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the kingdom. During the visit, the two countries signed a slew of deals in several sectors, including green energy, information technology, cloud services, transportation and logistics. The deals were reportedly worth $30 billion. 

 

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received His Excellency Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides held an official session of talks and exchanged views regarding ways to reinforce and develop comprehensive strategic partnership relations between the Kingdom and China, and all international and regional issues of common interest. 

 

In the joint statement, Saudi Arabia and China also indicated that the development and consolidation of cooperation in the field of oil conform with the common interests of both sides. 

 

The People’s Republic of China welcomed the Kingdom’s role as a supporter of the balance and stability in the world oil markets, and as a reliable major exporter of crude oil to China. 

 

The two sides agreed to explore common investment opportunities in the petrochemicals sector, develop promising projects in petrochemical conversion techniques, and enhance joint cooperation in several fields and projects including electricity, PV energy, wind energy, and other sources of renewable energy.

 

 The two sides also agreed to develop related projects, innovative uses of hydrocarbon resources, energy efficiency, and localization of energy sector components and its supply chains, in addition, to cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and the development of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, as well as innovation in the energy sector.

 

The two sides stressed the importance of deepening joint cooperation concerning “The Belt and Road Initiative”, welcoming the related Saudi companies’ involvement in various energy and investment partnerships within the framework of “Belt and Road Initiative”, enhancing the Kingdom’s location as a regional centre for Chinese companies in producing and exporting the products of the energy sector, as well as the joint investment in energy projects in the countries of the region and energy consuming countries in Europe and Africa. 

 

All of this will contribute to developing Saudi local content, and achieve self-sufficiency for China in the field of petrochemicals through its related investment in the Kingdom, the statement read.



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