Arab-China Business Conference: China seeks more Middle East economic inroads as investors flock to Riyadh, but politics ‘more complex’
- Two-day conference, which begins on Sunday in Riyadh, will welcome more than 3,000 attendees from 23 countries
- China’s growing interest in the Middle East has grown on all fronts – from trade and energy to defence – with US enthusiasm in the region seen to have diminished
Chinese firms are eyeing more economic opportunities from Beijing’s booming ties with the Middle East in an upcoming business forum in Saudi Arabia, but analysts say uncertainties remain over how much can be achieved amid a complex economic and political relationship.
The two-day Arab-China Business Conference, which begins on Sunday in Riyadh, will welcome more than 3,000 business and government representatives from 23 countries and regions, including mainland China and Hong Kong.
The 10th edition of the conference, which first took place in 2005, is expected to be the largest ever held, China’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chen Weiqing said on his official Twitter account.
Hong Kong stock exchange chairwoman Laura Cha Shih May-lung, Hang Lung Group chairman Ronnie Chan Chi-chung and Bank of China International chief executive Li Tong will lead two delegations of business executives to the conference.
China is not able to, and does not want to, get into the kind of engagement in the Middle East that the US has
“The success of the first China-Arab States Summit at the end of last year has injected fresh impetus into the development of the China-Arab relations and practical cooperation across the board,” said Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday.
