Filling out ‘Sign up’ implies your agreement to receiving marketing materials from Insider, among other associated offerings, and to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Design a mobile personalized feed catering to your favorite issues. Install the app.
Sign up for our newsletter for the most recent updates on the interplay between sustainability, culture, and business – delivered to your inbox every week.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil corporation, has voiced support for China’s environment-focused sectors, commending the contribution of the world’s second-most-advantaged economy to the affordability of solar panels and electric vehicles.
The CEO of Saudi Aramco, a state-owned entity, announced at the recent World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, “China has played a significant role in driving down the cost of solar energy,” as recorded by Financial Times.
This article is exclusively accessible to Business Insider subscribers: become an insider and start reading immediately.
“We are seeing a similar trend with electric vehicles. Their cost is somewhere between a third and half of that of other electric vehicles,” added Nasser, stressing the importance of globalization and collaboration as per the FT’s report.
Nasser asserted that the affordable green products made by China would assist the West in achieving its goal of reducing its carbon footprint to net-zero by 2050.
The West has expressed disapproval of China’s overcapacity.
The CEO’s comments coincided with the West’s critique of China’s approach of flooding global markets with their cheap solar panels and electric vehicles.
Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, during her recent visit to the East Asia nation, expressed concern over China’s overproduction and overcapacity.
“It is difficult for the world to take on China’s enormous capacity,” said Yellen, cautioning China to avoid a repetition of its practice of dumping products like steel on global markets, causing major disruption to industries and societies.
Just last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced similar concerns calling for equality in competition during a visit to China.
China has countered these allegations, viewing them as attempts by the West to impose constraints on their economic progress.
China, with the distinction of being the world’s second-most influential economy, is navigating a tricky shift from traditional real estate and manufacturing sectors to emerging sectors such as solar cells, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles.
Saudi Arabia aims to strengthen ties with China.
The timing of the CEO’s praise for China aligns strategically with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to foster their relationship with Beijing.
In stark contrast to the West, Saudi Arabia is keen on forming closer links with China.
Earlier this year, Faisal Alibrahim, Saudi Arabia’s minister of economy and planning, mentioned to Nikkei about their strategy to solidify their relation with China, among other nations.
Alibrahim highlighted the vast potential for Chinese investments in Saudi Arabia, while also expressing interest in investing globally, especially in China.
Saudi Arabia is eager to attract investments from Chinese entities to their ambitious Neom megacity project on the Red Sea, a key initiative aiming to steer the nation’s economy away from oil to sectors such as technology and tourism.
Being a crucial component of Saudi Arabia’s economy, Aramco has valid reasons for fostering closer relations with China, especially with the West focusing on reducing fossil fuel usage.
Recently, Aramco reported that they are in discussions to secure a 10% share in China’s Hengli Petrochemicals -one of many major deals with Chinese refining companies in less than a year- signaling an expansion of Aramco’s footprint in China.
Last year witnessed China playing mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran, raising concerns about the diminishing US influence in the Middle East.
Despite the blossoming bond between Saudi Arabia and China, according to Jon Alterman, the director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Chinese aren’t making significant inroads in Saudi Arabia.
Alterman, presenting his findings to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on Friday, stated, “It is evident to Saudis that a robust relationship with China is needed. Regardless of whether it replaces the United States or not, Saudi Arabia envisions China as an essential supplement to, and a check on what the United States can offer China.”
