Deepening China-Arab Energy Cooperation Born of Win-Win Scenarios

Energy cooperation, one of the main components of the China-Arab partnership, has steadily developed in recent years, with a deepening relationship born of numerous win-win achievements.

Seventy percent of China's oil supplies are imported. In 2021, China imported 265 million tonnes of crude oil from Arab countries, accounting for 51.6 percent of the national total.

To date, more than 200 large-scale cooperation projects in energy and infrastructure have been implemented, benefiting nearly 2 billion people.

The Middle East has the highest sunlight exposure rate in the world, with Saudi Arabia being the world's largest wind photovoltaic base.

The countries in the region are pursuing energy diversification through large-scale new energy projects. Last March, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its five-year commitment to convert half of its total energy to renewable sources by 2030.

This could lay a solid foundation for China-Middle East cooperation, as Chinese companies dominate key solar panel manufacturing stages.

China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, and the latter is China's most important energy supplier and largest trading partner in the West Asia and Africa region.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, trade between the two reached $87.31 billion in 2021, up 30.1 percent year on year.