Saudi energy minister expects more announcements of cooperation agreements with China

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Sunday that he expects more announcements of cooperation agreements between Saudi Arabia and China.

“There were recently some announcements that were made and I wouldn’t be surprised that you will hear some more announcements coming soon,” Prince Abdulaziz said during the 10th Arab-China Business Conference in Riyadh that kicked off Sunday morning.

He also provided some insight as to why the Kingdom is interested in maintaining a strategic partnership with China for different reasons.

“I will give some sort of a clue of why we are interested in China, [it’s] very simple. When it comes to oil, oil demand in China is still growing so of course we have to capture some of that demand,” he said.

“We want to invest in China because we also have an ambitious program on crude to chemicals,” with Chinese investments as interested parties, he added.

Prince Abdulaziz also brushed off criticism of the warming Saudi Chinese ties saying that such criticism is disregarded.

With over 3,000 decision-makers, government officials, investors, business owners, and experts from 23 countries, the 10th Session of the Arab-China Business Conference aims to enhance the strategic Arab-China partnership based on the Belt and Road Initiative in the fields of investment, economy, and trade.