Saudi Arabia is one of the important countries along the "Belt and Road" and achieved 8.7% real GDP growth in 2022. In recent years, the trade between China and Saudi Arabia has also continued to heat up.

National Business Daily (NBD) recently interviewed Muhammad Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan​, the chairman of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, to explore and understand how Chinese supply and Saudi demand can be matched more efficiently and effectively in the wave of Chinese enterprises going global.

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Increasing cooperation opportunities and space for enterprises in Saudi Arabia and China

NBD: How do you make of the opportunities and challenges in China?

Al-Ajlan: Saudi Arabia has strong growth momentum, topping the G20 countries in terms of growth rate last year, thanks to the growth demand in the country. The development of non-oil economy shows that Saudi Arabia is looking for a more diverse economic structure with long-term potential.

At present, Saudi Arabia is vigorously promoting infrastructure construction related to national economy and people's livelihood. Against the background of economic diversification and industrial modernization, Saudi Arabia also actively embraces artificial intelligence, big data and Internet of Things, so as to drive higher quality growth, enhance the sustainability and longevity of development.

As the world's second largest economy, China adheres to opening up to the outside world, driving domestic demand, maintaining investment attractiveness in trade and manufacturing, and is an indispensable link in the global supply chain. Although facing challenges, the globalization strategy of Chinese enterprises will still continue, and with the economic transformation and development in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, more Chinese enterprises will pay attention to and invest in them.

NBD: How do you think of the changes and characteristics in the trade between China and Saudi Arabia in recent years?

Al-Ajlan: Since ancient times, China and Saudi Arabia have had close economic and trade ties. Saudi Arabia has long been the main supplier of crude oil to China, and for more than twenty years, it has been the first largest trading partner of China in the Middle East.

Since 2013, China has become the largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia; in 2022, the bilateral trade between China and Saudi Arabia reached US$116.04 billion, an increase of 32.9% year-on-year.

Since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia in 2016, the bilateral trade has been deepening.

In recent years, the state visit of Chinese leaders and commercial delegation to Saudi Arabia has further confirmed the long-term friendly relationship between the two countries and pushed the strategic partnership to a new level of development. With the industrial upgrading of both countries, the trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia is becoming more and more diversified: in addition to oil trade, the two countries are actively exploring the potential of clean energy through technology.

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Saudi Arabia "Vision 2030" and China's "Belt and Road" initiative docking in-depth

NBD: In the bilateral investment between China and Saudi Arabia, which industries or sectors are more popular? 

Al-Ajlan: Due to its advantages in demand and production, energy and petrochemical have long been an important cooperative field between China and Saudi Arabia.

Besides oil and gas trade, the two countries also have a great potential in energy project, especially in clean energy. In terms of manufacturing, mechanical and electrical products, steel, clothing, etc. play an important role in China's exports to Saudi Arabia.

China's investment in infrastructure, communication and finance in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East is also obvious, mainly in petrochemical, power engineering, transportation and communication engineering. Chinese investors have gradually responded to the Saudi government's call to "increase non-oil revenue in fiscal revenue, accelerate the development of new energy and realize the diversification of the national economy", reflecting the in-depth docking of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030" and China's "Belt and Road" Initiative.

NBD: What are the main activities of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, especially for this year?

Al-Ajlan: With the further strengthening of China-Saudi relations, the activities of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council this year will cover a wider range of fields. We plan to strengthen communication and exchanges with Chinese official governments and organizations, and look forward to more in-depth cooperation this year. 

Bulish on Chinese companies with technological attribute going to Saudi Arabia

NBD: In Saudi Arabia and even the Middle East, which industries will usher in relatively high growth in the next 5-10 years?

Al-Ajlan: Similar to other emerging markets, we are optimistic about high value-added industries. In general, the market investment preference is for industries with strong technological attributes and in line with the trend of the digital economy, and will continue for a period of time.

The rapidly growing e-commerce market in the Middle East has further driven the development of a series of supporting industries such as financial technology, logistics, and communication technology. 

Smart medical care supported by technology is also a direction we are optimistic about. 

In the context of vigorously developing clean energy such as solar energy and hydrogen energy, Saudi Arabia's industrial manufacturing is also iterating. The benefits include the industrial construction of new energy vehicles, which is also an important step in Saudi Arabia's energy transformation process. The cooperation we are talking about also includes exploring the development of raw materials for renewable energy storage with mining companies in other countries.

Entertainment tourism is also a hot investment industry in recent years. 

NBD: Which industries in China will become the "favorite" of Saudi capital?

Al-Ajlan: We attach importance to insight into the market and the industry, which is why the group (referring to Ajlan Brothers Holding Group) has doubled the number of investment teams in China since its establishment. We hope to use the commercial strength and superior resources accumulated by the group for a long time to help more technological and powerful enterprises to enter the market and achieve a win-win situation with complementary advantages.

We see that China is in a leading position in the world in emerging fields such as science and technology, and has demonstrated very high competitiveness on a global scale.