New era in energy relations between China and Middle East | The National

New era in energy relations between China and Middle East | The National:



"China has stepped up its engagement in the Middle East over the past decade as the Asian giant seeks to safeguard and diversify crucial energy and commodities needed for long-term economic growth. From developing some of the world’s biggest oilfields in Iraq to constructing a large-scale refinery in Saudi Arabia, Chinese companies are broadening their footprint across the region, channelling billions of US dollars into sectors such as energy and commodities.



The energy needs of China and the Middle East are closely intertwined. On an industry level, it paves the way for a new breed of Chinese energy companies — characterised no longer by low-cost and substandard quality and service offerings but by considerably upgraded technological, human and financial capabilities — to play a much greater role in a sector that in the past was almost exclusively dominated by western firms, in particular international oil companies.



On a political level, China’s deepening engagement in the Middle East provides the world’s second-largest economy with long-term access to strategic hydrocarbons and other raw materials, while at the same time opening up downstream opportunities for producing countries seeking to cement relationships with their customers and ensure long-term demand security. It is also strengthening bilateral relations between regional governments and China, thus adding a new strategic dimension to the region’s political dynamics that may have greater weighting in the aftermath of the Arab Spring."



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