China-Arab States Summit 2022

The first China-Arab States Summit was held on December 9 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the summit with leaders from 21 Arab League countries, whose major economies include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq and Qatar.

During the summit, China and the Arab leaders signed multiple agreements and MOUs on energy, infrastructure, finance, education, technology, and other relevant fields. These agreements will open up new possibilities for China and Arab states' future cooperation.

Trade volume between China and the Arab countries reached USD 319 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, an increase of 35.3 percent year over year, while the total trade in 2021 came to USD 330 billion. In 2021, the stock of China-Arab two-way direct investment reached USD 27 billion.

In 2021, China imported 264 million tonnes of crude oil from Arab states, accounting for 51.47 percent of China’s total.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched, China and Arab states have established new cooperation mechanisms. A comprehensive strategic partnership was established between China and Algeria and Egypt in 2014, with Saudi Arabia in 2016, and with the United Arab Emirates in 2016. A strategic partnership was established between China and Qatar in 2014, Iraq in 2015, Morocco in 2016, and Oman and Kuwait in 2018. Multilaterally, China and Arab states established the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2004 and the China-Arab States Expo in 2013. In 2018, the Declaration of Action on China-Arab States Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative was signed by China and Arab states during the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, promoting the economic relations between China and Arab states.

Additionally, China has become deeply involved in local projects of Arab states, such as the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, the China-Oman Industrial Park, and the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Park.