On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Beijing is the largest trade partner for Arab countries. This affirmation came in response to a query during a press conference in Beijing regarding the increasing visits of Chinese business delegations to Arab nations.
Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning stated, “China and the Arab countries have a long history of friendship, and China has consistently been the largest trading partner for Arab nations.
She added that the trade volume between China and Arab countries exceeded $430 billion in 2022.
Ning further added, “Under the framework of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, both Chinese and Arab sides have enjoyed strong cooperation, which has boosted development and provided momentum for the growth of Chinese-Arab relations and cooperation across various sectors.
We are confident that this cooperation, including in the trade sector, will continue to deepen and yield more benefits for both peoples,” She noted.
In December 2022, Saudi Arabia and China signed investment agreements worth $50 billion during the Saudi-Chinese Summit held in Riyadh.
Attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the summit explored the profound Gulf relations with Beijing. China seeks to strengthen coordination with Saudi Arabia and its neighbors regarding energy policy and exploration.
China and the Arab world have a trade relationship stretching back 1,500 years to the time of the Silk Road, when Chinese fabrics came overland to the Arabian Peninsula and Arab incense, frankincense and pearls were carried to East Asia.
The name “Silk Road” was first coined by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877 to describe the ancient trade routes between East Asia and Europe. The concept of a great unifying belt continues to inspire trade relations to this day.
Today, China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner. According to the Reuters news agency, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $87.3 billion in 2021, with Chinese exports to the Kingdom reaching $30.3 billion and China’s imports from Saudi Arabia totaling $57 billion.
China’s main exports to Saudi Arabia are textiles, electronics, and machinery, while China mainly imports crude oil and primary plastics from the Kingdom. In the first 10 months of 2022, China’s Saudi oil imports reached 1.77 million barrels per day, valued at $55.5 billion, according to Chinese customs data.
