E China's Fujian seeks deeper economic, trade cooperation with Arab countries
Aerial photo taken on Aug. 25, 2020 shows containers loaded with commodities at the Shihu port in Shishi, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
East China's Fujian Province is deepening economic and trade cooperation with Arab countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), reported Chinanews.com Tuesday.
From January to October this year, Fujian Province recorded a total foreign trade volume of 110.331 billion yuan with Arab countries, up 19.48 percent year-on-year, while the total trade volume between Fujian and Arab countries surged 37.5 percent year on year to 110.05 billion yuan last year.
In March 2022, Fujian Fuhua Gulei Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a petrochemical joint venture (JV) was established in Fujian with shareholders including state-owned enterprises of Fujian Province and Saudi-based SABIC. The JV is now the operator of the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project with a total investment of over 40 billion yuan.
On December 9, Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, and Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco signed a cooperation framework agreement for the second phase of the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project, which is expected be completed and put into operation by the end of 2025.
According to the report, Fujian Province has been committed to promoting the cooperation between local enterprises and enterprises from Arab countries. By the end of 2021, a total of 153 foreign-funded projects invested by Arab countries were settled in the province, while Fujian has invested in 73 projects in Arab countries, among which Mauritania, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan are among the top five destinations for Fujian enterprises' investment in Arab countries.
