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China to Enhance Investment in GCC Energy, Infrastructure Projects

The China-GCC 1+6 Economic and Trade Ministers (BNA)
The China-GCC 1+6 Economic and Trade Ministers (BNA)
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China to Enhance Investment in GCC Energy, Infrastructure Projects

The China-GCC 1+6 Economic and Trade Ministers (BNA)
The China-GCC 1+6 Economic and Trade Ministers (BNA)

China seeks to strengthen its position in energy and infrastructure projects in the Gulf countries.

Kuwait has therefore, expressed readiness to discuss China's participation in developing housing cities and infrastructure.

The China-GCC 1+6 Economic and Trade Ministers' meeting launched its activities in Guangzhou with the participation of Gulf trade ministers, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassem al-Budaiwi, and the Chinese Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao.

The meeting focused on several key topics, most importantly preserving the multilateral trading system and strengthening the FTA negotiations between China and the GCC.

It also addressed enhancing investment cooperation, developing the industrial and supply chains, and enhancing cooperation in infrastructure connectivity and modern energy.

The minister also welcomed the establishment of the joint association between various Chinese and Gulf investment and financing institutions and activating its role to raise the level of mutual investment cooperation.

- Residential cities in Kuwait

Kuwait's Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Mohammad al-Aiban stated Kuwait's keenness that China have an active role in developing its contributions to housing cities, infrastructure, and energy projects.

Aiban indicated that these contributions have a solid impact on Kuwait's economy.

In a press statement Sunday, the Ministry of Commerce said that Aiban discussed trade exchange with his Chinese counterpart, in addition to diversifying trade relations, and expanding cooperation in non-oil fields.

Kuwait looks forward to enhancing the level of trade cooperation between both countries and further deepening cooperation in the investment field, said Aiban.

He underlined that China is one of the largest exporters of imports to Kuwait and one of Kuwait's largest trading partners in the non-oil field.

The Chinese Minister confirmed that Kuwait had become one of the crucial countries for China concerning renewable energy, infrastructure projects, energy, housing, and other projects.

He pointed to the high investment rates between them, expressing hope that the volume of investment will increase further by the Kuwaiti side in the promising fields in China.

- Power supply

Interlocutors also discussed promoting internal and external trade, reviewing and evaluating the unified and approved trade laws and draft laws in the GCC countries, the unified strategic framework for the free trade agreement, and consensus and initiatives on economic and trade cooperation.

They discussed the importance of a stable and reliable energy supply for trade, industry development, and investment.

Member states supported and encouraged the continued trade of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum derivatives between the GCC countries and China.

The joint meeting discussed the possibility of cooperation in e-commerce and agreed to enhance collaboration, qualify bilateral trade, new technologies and tools, and the possibility of conducting local currency exchange business between China and the GCC countries.

During the meeting, the Gulf Ministers expressed their keenness to enhance communication under the Chinese "Belt and Road" initiative, promote the building of economic and trade cooperation mechanisms, and deepen bilateral cooperation.

They also expressed their desire to raise trade liberalization and facilitation, stimulate the potential to develop trade and expand its volume, and boost cooperation in services trade and growing digital business.

The Gulf ministers emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure for the digital economy and encourage institutions to actively participate in providing traditional infrastructure with digitization and smart network transformation to establish the communications infrastructure.

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Business

Yuan Versus the Dollar: Will Hormuz Tensions Reshape the Global Monetary Order?

A liquefied petroleum gas tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) 
A liquefied petroleum gas tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) 
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Yuan Versus the Dollar: Will Hormuz Tensions Reshape the Global Monetary Order?

A liquefied petroleum gas tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) 
A liquefied petroleum gas tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) 

As geopolitical tensions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has floated a proposal to link the passage of energy shipments to payments in currencies other than the US dollar.

The move appears designed to pressure global power centers. While it stops short of a declared currency war, it highlights growing international efforts to reduce dependence on the dollar in energy markets.

This comes as US President Donald Trump calls for an international coalition to secure the strait, casting doubt on Iran’s willingness to negotiate. Diplomacy remains stalled as the conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran enters its seventeenth day.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied any moves toward negotiations or a ceasefire. Trump has also warned that NATO could face a “very bad” future if US allies fail to act to reopen the waterway, even as Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure continue.

Dr. Abdulaziz bin Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, said shifts in energy markets reflect a broader global trend toward currency diversification in international transactions. He argued that Iran’s proposal signals a growing willingness to explore alternatives amid geopolitical change, accelerating debate over the stability of currencies used in energy trade.

According to bin Sager, this is part of a gradual restructuring of the global financial system, particularly as major economies such as China and Russia expand the use of their national currencies in bilateral trade. He pointed to the decline in the dollar’s share of global reserves—from 65.3 percent in 2016 to 59.3 percent in 2024—as evidence of a steady shift.

He noted that countries are seeking to manage geopolitical risk and adopt more flexible economic strategies, reflecting a broader move toward a multipolar monetary system. China promotes the yuan through the Belt and Road Initiative, while Russia advances its currency through bilateral agreements.

Dr. Saeed Sallam, Director of the Vision International Center for Strategic Studies, said that Iran’s demand as limited in immediate practical impact but significant in long-term symbolic terms. He warned that it could increase volatility and uncertainty in energy markets, complicate transactions due to limited yuan liquidity, and drive up maritime insurance and transport costs by 20 to 30 percent along alternative routes.

Rather than stabilizing markets, Sallam argued, the move could fragment oil trade. Limited volumes might be settled in yuan and routed through Hormuz to China, while the rest are diverted via more expensive routes. The result could be sharp increases in gas, fertilizer, and food prices, raising the risk of recession in Asian and European economies.

He continued that China is pursuing a strategy of careful balance. While it may accept limited yuan-based transactions to secure oil imports, it is unlikely to support escalation that threatens stability in the strait, through which roughly 40 percent of its imports pass. Russia, meanwhile, uses the proposal symbolically within the BRICS framework to challenge Washington, though stable energy markets remain essential to its export revenues.

Sallam concluded that Iran’s proposal may accelerate the rhetoric of de-dollarization and contribute to price shocks, but its real impact remains constrained by diplomatic and practical limits. The core issue, he stressed, is not the currency used but whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open.

For now, the dollar retains its dominant position in global energy trade, though that status could be tested by rapidly evolving military and diplomatic developments.

 

 

Business

World Shares Are Mixed and US Futures Slip as Brent Hovers Above $100 a Barrel

A person walks near a stock price monitor showing Nikkei index at a security company Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP)
A person walks near a stock price monitor showing Nikkei index at a security company Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP)
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World Shares Are Mixed and US Futures Slip as Brent Hovers Above $100 a Barrel

A person walks near a stock price monitor showing Nikkei index at a security company Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP)
A person walks near a stock price monitor showing Nikkei index at a security company Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP)

Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia on Tuesday after a drop in oil prices helped send the US stock market to its best day since the war in Iran began.

The reprieve in prices for crude was short-lived, with Brent crude climbing nearly 4% early Tuesday to $104.13 a barrel. US benchmark crude also climbed, to $97.53 per barrel after dipping to about $93 on Monday.

US futures fell back, with the contracts for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gave up early gains to slip 0.1% to 53,700.39 and the Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.6% to 5,640.48.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1% to 25,668.54, while the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.9% to 4,049.91.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 8,614.30 after the central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate to 4.1%.

Citing higher fuel prices, the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday lifted the cash rate from 3.85% which it set at its Feb. 3 meeting in response to surging inflation. That rise was Australia’s first since November 2023.

Taiwan's Taiex rose 1.5% and India's Sensex picked up 0.6%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 climbed 1% for its biggest gain in five weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.2%.

The driver for markets has been oil prices, which have spiked from roughly $70 before the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran. In response, Iran has nearly halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails from the Gulf to customers worldwide. That has oil producers cutting production because their crude has nowhere to go.

The worry in financial markets is that if the strait remains closed for a long time, it could keep enough oil off the market to drive inflation up to a debilitating level for the global economy.

“The panic is still there, just dialed down a notch as crude slipped off the boil. Brent easing back toward $100 flipped the tape from bunker mentality to opportunistic risk-taking in a heartbeat,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

President Donald Trump over the weekend demanded that other countries hurt by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz “take care of that passage” and said his country “will help - A LOT!”

The US and Israel have kept pummeling what they describe as military targets in Iran’s capital, and Israel stepped up its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon — roughly 20% of the nation’s population — as UN peacekeepers say Israel is massing ground troops along the border.

Uncertainty over the war's scope and duration have roiled financial markets since the war began just over two weeks ago, though markets have a track record of bouncing back relatively quickly from military conflicts. Many professional investors are expecting that to be the case again, if oil prices don't go too high for too long. That has helped keep US stock prices near their record levels.

Higher prices are complicating the Federal Reserve's mission of balancing growth and inflation as President Donald Trump pushes the central bank to slash interest rates. Traders do not expect the Fed to cut rates at its policy meeting that wraps up on Wednesday.

Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into artificial-intelligence technology rose 1.6% on Monday as its CEO, Jensen Huang, talked up AI's possibilities at a conference, saying he foresaw $1 trillion in demand for AI chips through 2027. It was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the US dollar rose to 159.18 Japanese yen from 159.05 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1498 from $1.1507.

Business

Gold Firms as Investors Assess Middle East Fallout ahead of Policy Decisions

AFP_A salesperson displays gold bangles for sale in a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
AFP_A salesperson displays gold bangles for sale in a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
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Gold Firms as Investors Assess Middle East Fallout ahead of Policy Decisions

AFP_A salesperson displays gold bangles for sale in a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
AFP_A salesperson displays gold bangles for sale in a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, buoyed by easing fears of prolonged disruptions to oil shipments, while investors assessed the economic impact of the Middle East conflict ahead of a slew of central bank policy decisions this week.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $5,013.71 per ounce as of 0644 GMT. US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.3% to $5,018.10.

"Gold ‌prices pulled back ‌in the first 24 hours of ‌trade ⁠this week. That seems ⁠to echo the markets' positive response to Iran's foreign minister's comments... In response, crude oil pulled back, yields ticked lower, and the US dollar gave back some recent gains as stocks rose," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is not ⁠closed to everyone, while some vessels sailed through the ‌critical strait.

However, oil held above $100 ‌a barrel as the US-Israeli war against Iran kept the strait largely ‌shut, stranding tankers for weeks, in the biggest disruption to ‌global supplies on record. US President Donald Trump repeated his call for nations to help unblock the Strait, and complained that none were willing to offer assistance.

Higher crude prices fuel inflation by raising transport and production costs. While ‌gold is seen as an inflation hedge, higher interest rates boost yield-bearing assets, dampening demand for the ⁠metal.

"Watching news-flow ⁠from the US-Iran war and what it does to crude oil remains a key input, but the upcoming Fed meeting also has big catalyst potential. Gold may weaken if the central bank strikes a relatively hawkish tone," Spivak said.

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold rates steady for a second straight meeting when it announces its policy statement on Wednesday.

Central banks in Britain, the euro zone, Japan, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden also meet this week for the first time since the Iran war began.

Spot silver rose 0.3% to $80.97 per ounce. Spot platinum gained 0.9% to $2,133.93, while palladium fell 0.2% to $1,595.75.