Sino-Arab Businessmen Conference wraps up with agreements worth $10 billion signed

Under the patronage of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first day of the tenth Arab-Chinese Businessmen Conference held for the first time in Saudi Arabia, wrapped up.

On the sidelines of the conference, which is the largest of its kind, Saudi Arabia signed investment agreements worth more than $10 billion (about 37.5 billion Saudi riyals), including 30 agreements and deals in various sectors, such as technology, renewable energy sources, agriculture, real estate, minerals, supply chains, tourism and healthcare.

Inaugurating the conference on behalf of the Crown Prince was Minister of Foreign Affairs His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, who stressed the Crown Prince’s commitment to “raising the level of work to produce results worthy of the long-standing and advanced partnership in vital investment fields between Arab countries and China.”

He stated that the slogan of the conference “Collaborating for Prosperity” stresses the importance, potential and common visions for investment and trade relations between the Arab world and China, and sheds light on mechanisms of agreement, exchanging experiences and launching new opportunities for growth and investment that would achieve prosperity and progress for the people of the region and the world.

Delivering a speech at the inauguration ceremony was Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, who expressed his gratitude to His Highness the Crown Prince for patronizing this great event.

He welcomed China’s participation in this “renaissance,” describing it as comprehensive and moving towards growth and expansion and creating huge opportunities for the next renaissance and economic, trade and investment cooperation. “We will work with China to leverage the great opportunities available to us, because we believe in broad integration between our economies,” he underscored.

The minister indicated that energy exports from the Arab world contributed to advancing the industrial development in China, and in return, the goods manufactured in China reached every home, office and factory in Arab countries.

More than 3,500 business leaders, innovators and decision-makers from more than 26 countries took part in the conference’s extensive agenda, which included panel discussions, workshops, special meetings, and other events on the sidelines that discuss a number of key topics such as social and environmental responsibility, governance and enhancing the resilience of the supply chain.

On the sidelines of the conference, the participating companies inked several agreements, including a $533 million deal between Emmar Al Oula and the Hong Kong-based Zhonghuan International Group to establish a factory for processing iron ore and manufacturing iron pellets for smelting plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a $500 million agreement between the ASK Group and the China National Geological and Mining Company to develop, finance, construct and operate a copper mining project in the Arabian Shield region; and a $266 million framework agreement between El-Safwa Buildings Company, GEZHOUBA International Engineering Company and Top Arabia International Engineering Company for the construction of advanced buildings in the Kingdom.

The public and private sectors also signed a number of agreements, including a $5.6 billion (about 21 billion Saudi riyals) agreement between the Ministry of Investment and the Chinese company Human Horizons, which is specialized in developing self-driving technologies and manufacturing electric vehicles under the HiPhi brand, to establish a joint venture to research developing, manufacturing and selling vehicles; and a $266 million agreement between the Ministry of Investment and Hibobi Technology Company, an Android software developer in Hong Kong, to develop applications in the field of tourism.

Additionally, a $250 million deal, facilitated by the Ministry of Investment, was signed between the Saudi Railways Company (SABATCO) and the Chinese government-owned CRRC Corporation, which is a rolling stock manufacturer, to manufacture a number of train carriages and wheels in the Kingdom; in addition to a $150 million deal signed between the ministries of Investment and Industry and Mineral Resources and the Sunda Manufacturing Company to produce caustic soda, chlorine and its derivatives, chlorinated paraffins, calcium chloride, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and related conversion products in the Kingdom.

The trade and investment event, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Investment in partnership with the Secretariat General of the Arab league, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Federation of Arab Chambers, coincides with a remarkable growth in trade between the Arab world and China, the total value of which amounted to $430 billion in 2022, of those more than $106 billion was between China and Saudi Arabia alone, with a growth rate of 30 percent compared to 2021. It is worthy to note that China’s foreign direct investment in the markets of the Arab world amounted to $23 billion in the year 2021, of which $3.5 billion was in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.