عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

$10 Bn Investment Deals Signed on Day 1 of Arab-China Business Conference

Workshops on the sidelines of the Arab-China Business Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Workshops on the sidelines of the Arab-China Business Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

$10 Bn Investment Deals Signed on Day 1 of Arab-China Business Conference

Workshops on the sidelines of the Arab-China Business Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Workshops on the sidelines of the Arab-China Business Conference (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The 10th Arab-China Business Conference witnessed the signing of investment agreements worth more than $10 billion, including 30 deals in various sectors.

Held under the theme of "Collaborating for Prosperity," the conference will bring together more than 3,000 government officials and business leaders from China and several Arab nations to discuss mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, and investment.

The conference is jointly organized with the Union of Arab Chambers, the League of Arab States, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

On the sidelines of the conference, several agreements were concluded between the private and public sectors, including government-to-business deals.

The Saudi Ministry of Investment signed a $5.6 billion agreement with the Chinese company Human Horizons, which specializes in developing

autonomous driving technologies and manufacturing of electric cars under the HiPhi brand to establish a joint venture for automotive research, development, manufacturing, and sales.

- Rail wagons

The Ministry of Investment also signed a $266 million agreement with Hepopi Technology Co., Ltd., an Android software developer in Hong Kong, to develop tourism applications.

With the facilitation of the Ministry of Investment, a $250 million deal was concluded between the

Saudi Railways Company (SAPTCO) and Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer, CRRC, inked a $250 million deal to manufacture rail wagons and wheels in Saudi Arabia.

- Iron factory

Also among the agreements is a $150 million deal between the Ministries of Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM), and Chinese industrial manufacturer Sunda to manufacture caustic soda, chlorine, and its derivatives, chlorinated paraffin, calcium chloride, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and conversion products in the Kingdom.

Also, on the sidelines of the event, a $533 million deal between the AMR al-Uwlaa Company and Hong Kong-based Zhonghuan International Group to establish a factory to reduce iron ore and manufacture iron pellets for smelting plants in Saudi Arabia.

- Copper mining

Saudi Arabia's ASK Group and the China National Geological & Mining Corporation signed a $500 million cooperation agreement for developing, financing, constructing, and operating an Arabian Shield copper mining project.

A $266 million framework agreement was signed between Mabani Al- Safwah Ltd, China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Co., Ltd., and Top International Engineering Corporation Arabia Ltd. for advanced building construction in the Kingdom.

- Thousands of participants

The conference's extensive agenda attracted thousands of participants, including panel discussions, workshops, special meetings, and side events that addressed selected vital topics, such as social and environmental responsibility, governance, and enhancing the supply chain's resilience.

Over 3,000 decision-makers, senior government officials, investors, business owners, and specialists joined the conference for the first-day number of participants on the first day.

- Oil and gas

Participants of the conference's sidelines reiterated the importance of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, benefiting from each other's strengths to achieve common goals and drive innovation.

The topics include supply chains for the oil and gas sectors, innovation and research partnerships, challenges and solutions for global commercial supply chains, mining, and food processing.

- Tourism sector

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed al-Khateeb asserted the responsibility to expand the Kingdom's contribution to the global travel and tourism market, noting that Saudi Arabia is investing more than $800 billion in the sector over the next ten years.

At the conference, Khateeb encouraged Chinese tourists to visit Saudi Arabia and called on investors to seize unprecedented opportunities in the Kingdom.

He stated that since the launch of the government's initiatives, 49 countries had been allowed to obtain e-visa and that many Arab countries are working diligently to increase their contributions to the travel and tourism sector.

Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris, founder of Orascom Development, stressed that cooperation between Saudi and Chinese entities is the first step that can combine the power of knowledge in the Saudi market with the centrality of Beijing.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

EU Says US Must Honor a Trade Deal after Court Blocks Trump Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, D.C., US, February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, D.C., US, February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
TT
TT

EU Says US Must Honor a Trade Deal after Court Blocks Trump Tariffs

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, D.C., US, February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, D.C., US, February 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The European Union's executive arm requested “full clarity” from the United States and asked its trade partner to fulfill its commitments after the US Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping tariffs.

Trump has lashed out at the court decision and said Saturday that he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from the 10% he announced a day earlier.

The European Commission said the current situation is not conducive to delivering "fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” trans-Atlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-US Joint Statement of August 2025.

American and EU officials sealed a trade deal last year that imposes a 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the United States. The European Commission handles trade for the 27 EU member countries.

A top EU lawmaker said on Sunday he will propose to the European Parliament negotiating team to put the ratifying process of the deal on pause.

“Pure tariff chaos on the part of the US administration,” Bernd Lange, the chair of Parliament’s international trade committee, wrote on social media. “No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other US trading partners.”

The value of EU-US trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.

“A deal is a deal,” the European Commission said. “As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the US to honor its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments. EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed."

Jamieson Greer, Trump’s top trade negotiator, said in a CBS News interview Sunday morning that the US plans to stand by its trade deals and expects its partners to do the same.

He said he talked to his European counterpart this weekend and hasn’t heard anyone tell him the deal is off.

“The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall,” Greer said. “I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say the deal’s off. They want to see how this plays out.”

Europe’s biggest exports to the US are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits. Among the biggest US exports to the bloc are professional and scientific services like payment systems and cloud infrastructure, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, aerospace products and cars.

“When applied unpredictably, tariffs are inherently disruptive, undermining confidence and stability across global markets and creating further uncertainty across international supply chains,” The Associated Press quoted the commission as saying.

As primarily a trading bloc, the EU has a powerful tool at its disposal to retaliate — the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument. It includes a raft of measures for blocking or restricting trade and investment from countries found to be putting undue pressure on EU member nations or corporations.

The measures could include curtailing the export and import of goods and services, barring countries or companies from EU public tenders, or limiting foreign direct investment. In its most severe form, it would essentially close off access to the EU’s 450-million customer market and inflict billions of dollars of losses on US companies and the American economy.

Business

GCC GDP Jumps to $2.3 Trillion

GCC countries continued to record GDP growth, supported by economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms (Oman News Agency).
GCC countries continued to record GDP growth, supported by economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms (Oman News Agency).
TT
TT

GCC GDP Jumps to $2.3 Trillion

GCC countries continued to record GDP growth, supported by economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms (Oman News Agency).
GCC countries continued to record GDP growth, supported by economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms (Oman News Agency).

A statistical report published on Sunday showed that the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries recorded growth in gross domestic product, supported by economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms. Combined GDP reached $2.3 trillion, ranking ninth globally, with a growth rate of 2.2 percent.

The report revealed that GCC countries achieved qualitative advances in 2024 across competitiveness, energy, trade, and digitization, driven by growth in non-oil sectors, improved quality of life, the development of digital infrastructure, and a stronger regional and international presence.

In the “GCC in Numbers” report issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf, it was emphasized that GCC states continue to record real GDP growth “thanks to economic diversification programs and fiscal reforms, with GDP reaching $2.3 trillion, ranking ninth globally, and posting growth of 2.2 percent.”

The report also showed improvement in global economic indicators, including competitiveness, resilience, and economic dynamism.

GCC countries ranked first globally in oil reserves at 511.9 billion barrels, third worldwide in natural gas production at 442 billion cubic metres, and second globally in natural gas reserves at 44.3 billion cubic metres.

GCC countries ranked 10th globally in total exports valued at $849.6 billion, 11th in imports at $739.0 billion, 10th in total trade at $1.5895 trillion, and sixth worldwide in trade balance surplus at $109.7 billion.

Business

Algeria Tenders to Buy Nominal 50,000 Metric Tons Soft Milling Wheat

Mature spring wheat awaits harvest on a farm near Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon VanRaes/File Photo
Mature spring wheat awaits harvest on a farm near Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon VanRaes/File Photo
TT
TT

Algeria Tenders to Buy Nominal 50,000 Metric Tons Soft Milling Wheat

Mature spring wheat awaits harvest on a farm near Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon VanRaes/File Photo
Mature spring wheat awaits harvest on a farm near Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon VanRaes/File Photo

Algeria's state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy soft milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Sunday.

The tender sought a nominal 50,000 metric tons but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders than the nominal volume sought, Reuters reported.

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is Tuesday, February 24, with offers having to remain valid until Wednesday, February 25. The wheat is sought for shipment in three periods from the main supply regions including Europe: April 16-30, May 1-15 and May 16-31. If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier.

Algeria is a vital customer for wheat from the European Union, especially France, but Russian and other Black Sea region exporters have been expanding strongly in the Algerian market.