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The Saudi Arabia market event draws visitors in Shanghai. The kingdom is targeting Chinese visitors in its tourism push

Oil export dip fails to dent Saudi trade with China

China is holding up as Saudi Arabia’s main trading partner – even after a fall in crude oil exports in the first half of the year that led to an Aramco price cut, which takes effect this month.  The latest international trade bulletin from the General Authority for Statistics says China accounted for 16.6 percent […]

Field, Nature, Outdoors In 2023, El Niño arrived early, impacting crops. The Indian government reacted by banning exports of non-basmati white rice

Weather and politics keep pressure on price of rice

The status of rice as a global food staple means that it is also a political minefield for producer nations. So all eyes are on India as rice prices fluctuate at around a 15-year high.  Different varietals and markets command different prices, but trading on “contracts for difference”, which track benchmark prices, saw the cost of […]

Omar Sultan Al Olama, the minister of state for AI, says the UAE has 'proven to be a strategic partner with the US'

US scores geopolitical win with Abu Dhabi-Microsoft tie-up

Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi’s artificial intelligence company has received a significant vote of confidence from US authorities.  Tarun Chhabra, a senior White House adviser on technology, said on Monday that the US government has raised no objections to the Silicon Valley giant’s partnership because G42 had severed ties with the Chinese tech […]

Morocco is rich in phosphate resources, which are key to making lithium-iron-phosphate cells

China picks Morocco for Europe’s EV battery supply

China is intent on establishing a battery supply chain for the European electric vehicle (EV) market in Morocco, a top Volkswagen executive has said. The initiative comes as Europe grapples with challenges in establishing its industry to support EV manufacturing. “We don’t have any supply chain. This has to be set up,” Bloomberg reported, quoting […]

A wheel manufacturing workshop in Qingzhou, Shandong province. China is the world's largest importer of crude oil

Upturn for manufacturing tipped to lift oil prices

Rising manufacturing activity worldwide is likely to support higher oil prices in the second half of the year, a supply chain indicator suggests. However, analysts have warned that spare capacity among Opec+ and other oil producers is likely to ease upside pressure on crude prices. The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index hit 0.21 in […]

Opec has kept its oil demand growth forecast at 2.2 million bpd

Opec and IEA poles apart on oil supply predictions

Opec and the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) have this week both issued reports with vastly differing predictions for the outlook for global crude production in the coming years. However, the opposing organisations agree on one thing: that China will be the determining factor in production and prices this year. In its latest annual medium-term […]

Analysts say consumers believe that wearable technology can help improve their health and quality of life

Wearable tech shoppers track price as well as health

Gulf consumers who are interested in wearable tech – smart watches, rings, glasses and implants – are opting for mid-range gadgets rather than premium devices, industry experts have told AGBI. Dubai retailer Jumbo Electronics reported 50 percent year-on-year growth in the AED600-1,000 (about $163-$272) price segment in the first four months of 2024. The AED1,000-1,500 […]

The EV factory in Morocco is expected to create thousands of jobs and begin with a 20 gigawatt capacity

Morocco signs Chinese deal to build EV battery factory

China has announced a second large-scale investment in Morocco’s electric vehicle sector with plans for an EV battery factory to take advantage of access to the European market and a burgeoning automotive sector. A $1.3 billion deal has been signed between the Moroccan government and the Chinese-European group Gotion High Tech to build a gigafactory […]

China's Sinopec will work on the third phase of Saudi Aramco’s master gas system

Aramco awards Sinopec $1.4bn gas pipeline contract

Saudi Aramco has awarded a SAR5.2 billion ($1.38 billion) contract to Chinese state energy major Sinopec to expand its domestic natural gas pipeline. Sinopec International Petroleum Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation, won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the third phase of Aramco’s master gas system, one of the […]

Workers at a semiconductor factory. Saudi Arabia wants global semiconductor design companies to set up in the kingdom

Saudi Arabia campaign aims to attract chipmakers

Saudi Arabia has launched a National Semiconductor Hub in a bid to attract international chipmakers. The kingdom is targeting at least 50 semiconductor design companies to set up business by 2030, aiming to cut its reliance on imported computer chips. The global semiconductor industry, once plagued by shortages, is now showing signs of recovery and […]

The joint venture agreement between Etihad and China Eastern is the first commercial one between a Middle Eastern airline and a Chinese airline

Etihad and China Eastern forge new network alliance

Etihad Airways and China Eastern Airlines have agreed to expand connectivity between the UAE and China. The UAE national airline and the Shanghai-based carrier signed a joint venture agreement – the first commercial one between a Middle Eastern airline and a Chinese airline – to jointly develop the routes. The move will broaden the network […]

A worker fills up a car at a petrol station in Qingzhou, Shandong province. Electric vehicles are a contributing factor to the fall in Chinese oil demand

Gulf oil producers anticipate peak in Chinese demand

In any discussion of the outlook for oil prices, Chinese demand always features largely. For the Gulf this is particularly crucial. China is the main off-taker of Saudi, Iraqi, Omani, UAE and Kuwaiti crudes.   At the weekend, Opec+ again committed to rolling over oil supply cuts to support crude prices but analysts say its efforts […]

'Knowing the Chinese, they’re going to be fairly versatile and fairly quick in upgrading their standards,' says Emirates boss Sir Tim Clark

Emirates chief backs Chinese plane maker Comac

The president of Emirates, Sir Tim Clark, has given his backing to Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac as problems persist at the US plane maker Boeing. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, based in Shanghai, has been courting attention across the Gulf in recent months as Boeing grapples with delivery delays, a spate of accidents and whistleblower […]

Augmnted reality ai headset

China’s OpenAI rival backed by Saudi fund

Saudi Aramco’s venture capital fund Prosperity7 has joined a $400 million investment round for Chinese generative AI startup Zhipu AI. Prosperity7 is a minority investor in Zhipu, which is valued at nearly $3 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday. This marks the first instance of foreign investment in China’s quest to establish a homegrown […]

As part of the agreement, Lenovo will establish its Middle East and Africa headquarters in Saudi Arabia

China’s Lenovo issues $2bn bonds to repay Saudi Alat debt

China’s Lenovo Group has issued $2 billion in convertible bonds to Alat, a Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed technology manufacturing company, to repay its existing debt and boost working capital. As part of the agreement, the Hong Kong-headquartered personal computer maker will open a new PC and server manufacturing facility and establish its Middle East and Africa […]

hu jintao china gcc

Diplomacy and trade to fore as China woos GCC leaders

It’s quite a coup. Hu Jintao (still with us) must be feeling vindicated. The heads of four Arab states are in Beijing to attend the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, which Hu founded in 2004 to bring together China and the Arab League.  Xi Jinping, Hu’s successor as leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), will […]

Riyadh Air Comac C919

Riyadh Air not buying from China’s Comac ‘for now’

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, will not consider China’s Comac for its narrowbody order to be announced later this year. However, the airline said it saw a future in Saudi Arabia for Comac, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, as the Chinese alternative to Boeing and Airbus.  “The narrowbody order is in its […]

Saudi Comac Dongfeng He Bandar al-Khorayef

Chinese planemaker banned by US woos Saudi airlines

The boss of a leading Chinese planemaker arrived in Saudi Arabia this week to pitch his aircraft just as the United States said it was close to finalising a defence agreement with Riyadh that is meant to limit its trade links with China.  Dongfeng He, chairman of Comac, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, wants […]