Aramco, Partners to Construct Major Refinery, Petrochemical Complex in China

Officials sign an agreement to kick off construction of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China. (Aramco)
Officials sign an agreement to kick off construction of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China. (Aramco)
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Aramco, Partners to Construct Major Refinery, Petrochemical Complex in China

Officials sign an agreement to kick off construction of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China. (Aramco)
Officials sign an agreement to kick off construction of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China. (Aramco)

Aramco and joint venture partners NORINCO Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group plan to start constructing a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in northeast China.

Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO) is a joint venture between Aramco, NORINCO Group, and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group.

It is developing a complex that would combine a refinery that produces 300,000 barrels per day and a petrochemical plant with an annual production capacity of 1.65 million metric tons of ethylene and 2 million metric tons of paraxylene.

Construction will start in the second quarter of 2023 after the project secures the required administrative approvals. It is expected to be fully operational by 2026.

Aramco will supply up to 210,000 bpd of crude oil feedstock to the complex, built in Panjin, in China’s Liaoning province.

Aramco Executive Vice President of Downstream Mohammed al-Qahtani said it was an important project to support China’s growing demand for fuel and chemical products.

“It also represents a major milestone in our ongoing downstream expansion strategy in China and the wider region, an increasingly significant driver of global petrochemical demand,” he added.

NORINCO Group Deputy General Manager Zou Wenchao said a large-scale refinery and petrochemical complex is a crucial project of NORINCO Group to implement and realize the joint development of the high-quality Belt and Road initiative, promote industrial restructuring, and enhance the oil and petrochemical sector to become stronger, better, and larger.

He noted that it would be necessary to deepen economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia and achieve joint development and prosperity.

Panjin Xincheng Chairman of the Board Jia Fei indicated that the project is significant for Panjin to promote increasing chemicals and specialty products, strengthening the integration of the refining and chemical industry.

It is a symbolic project for Panjin as it seeks to accelerate the development of an essential national petrochemical and fine chemical industry base.

Meanwhile, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser stressed that China’s long-term energy security and high-quality development were among the company’s highest priorities.

Speaking at the China Development Forum 2023, Nasser said expanding Aramco’s oil production capacity by a million to 13 million barrels per day by 2027 will strengthen China’s long-term energy security.

He also noted that increasing gas production by more than fifty percent by 2030 should release an additional million barrels of oil daily for export.

The official said the global energy transition desperately needs realism and clarity, adding: “We welcome the pragmatic thoughts of Chinese President Xi Jinping on this.”

Aramco is already working on three major strategies to support China’s energy and development priorities.

The company recently launched a $1.5 billion venture capital sustainability fund to invest in advanced technologies to help all move closer to a net-zero emissions future.

“We are also evaluating an entry into liquified natural gas,” Nasser announced.

He highlighted the excellent example of the multiple and desirable opportunities for Chinese companies in the Kingdom in various energy and non-energy areas.

“More broadly, we are developing advanced, more sustainable materials such as those based on polymers and carbon to complement conventional ones while reducing their high cost,” he remarked.



China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
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China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

China announced Friday that it will raise tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While US President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying" and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

Washington's repeated raising of tariffs “will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement announcing the new tariffs. “However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end.”

China’s Commerce Ministry said it would file another lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US tariffs.

“There are no winners in a tariff war,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV. “For more than 70 years, China has always relied on itself ... and hard work for development, never relying on favors from anyone, and not fearing any unreasonable suppression.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday said China stands firm against Trump’s tariffs not only to defend its own rights and interests but also to “safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.”

Wang made the remarks when he met Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Beijing. Wang said China will “work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world.”

Trump's on-again, off-again measures have caused alarm in stock and bond markets and led some to warn that the US could be headed for a recession. There was some relief when Trump paused the tariffs for most countries — but concerns remain since the US and China are the world's No. 1 and No. 2 economies, respectively.

“The risk that this escalating trade war tips the world into a recession is rising as the two largest and most powerful countries in the world continue to punch back with higher and higher tariffs,” Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital markets, wrote Friday. “No one truly knows when this will end.”

Chinese tariffs will affect goods like soybeans, aircrafts and their parts and drugs — all among the country's major imports from the US Beijing, meanwhile, suspended sorghum, poultry and bonemeal imports from some American companies last week, and put more export controls on rare earth minerals, critical for various technologies.

The United States' top imports from China, meanwhile, include electronics, like computers and cell phones, industrial equipment and toys — and consumers and businesses are likely to see prices rise on those products, with tariffs now at 145%.

Trump announced on Wednesday that China would face 125% tariffs, but he did not include a 20% tariff on China tied to its role in fentanyl production.

White House officials hope the import taxes will create more manufacturing jobs by bringing production back to the United States — a politically risky trade-off that could take years to materialize, if at all.