Roundup: More chances await China-Saudi Arabia win-win cooperation: business insiders

RIYADH, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — There are more cooperation opportunities Chinese and Saudi Arabian businesses could explore in the near future, especially in the fields of investment, manufacturing, and technology, business insiders have said.
“I’ve probably been about 20 times to China, and my impression is they (Chinese companies) are significantly advanced in manufacturing and now in technology as well. The level of advancement and automation that they’ve been able to bring and the cost efficiency are really impressive,” said Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon, a floating industrial city which is under development in Saudi Arabia and strategically located on the coast of the Red Sea.
Wanchoo told Xinhua here at the 8th Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, running from Tuesday to Thursday, that a local green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia is already using products from Chinese companies, such as solar cells and modules, as well as wind turbines, which “are all good.”
“We’ve had a great relationship with these Chinese companies and they are professional, they’re competent. I visited their factories. We use their technology. So I’m very bullish,” he said.
Calling such a relationship a “win-win,” Wanchoo said while Saudi Arabian development projects are benefiting from Chinese technology and products, companies like his could also help Chinese businesses set foot in Saudi Arabia and export their products further to other attractive markets like Europe and the United States.
Lu Yunhe, executive vice president of ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabia-based electric power generation company, told Xinhua during the three-day event that “the win-win situation is actually materializing” for cooperation between Saudi Arabian and Chinese businesses, especially in energy, electric vehicles and mining, among others.
He said one of the key milestones for participating in the 8th FII conference is that his company is signing a research and development and innovation agreement with China’s Shanghai city. “This is a major step we are taking as ACWA Power and working with the supply chain of the renewable hydrogen water sector in China.”
“Saudi Arabia is actually undergoing industrialization and modernization of the whole country, and China has one of the most comprehensive industrial supply chains … So there’s a very clear complementary advantage between the two nations,” said Lu.
“China is very important for us,” said Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer of Riyadh Air, the second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. Highlighting Riyadh Air’s “very strong” relationships with two Chinese airlines, namely Air China and China Eastern, Boukadida told Xinhua that the carrier is planning to expand to over 100 global destinations by 2030, which obviously will include China.
Michael Dyke, CEO of the New Murabba Development Company, which plans for mixed-use real estate development in northwestern Riyadh and Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, told Xinhua that his company has “had the great benefit of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) who has worked with us,” which is “the first major construction organization to be appointed” in the development of Riyadh’s new modern downtown.
“The opportunities are boundless” for future cooperation between his company and Chinese businesses, particularly in science and technology, he noted.
Yang Zhiyuan, CEO and general manager of CHEC (Middle East), believes that China and Saudi Arabia have huge cooperation potential in the future, given their ever-deepening bilateral ties and complementary advantages.
Yang said CHEC, which entered the Saudi market in 2007, has participated in many infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia, including ports and bridges, among others, and that he sees more cooperation opportunities coming in transportation, logistics and city construction.
Dovetailing China’s high-quality development philosophy with Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030,” the two countries can also explore new cooperation chances in emerging industries, such as new energy, digital economy, and advanced manufacturing, he told Xinhua. ■