BEIJING/SINGAPORE: Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, beat Russia to keep its ranking as China’s top crude supplier in 2020, Chinese government data showed on Wednesday.
Oil demand in China, the world’s top oil importer, remained strong last year even as the coronavirus crisis hammered global appetite.
Chinese imports rose 7.3 percent to a record of 542.4 million tons or 10.85 million barrels per day (bpd).
Saudi shipments to China in 2020 rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier to 84.92 million tons, or about 1.69 million bpd, data from the General Administration of Chinese Customs showed.
Russia was a close second with shipments of 83.57 million tons, or 1.67 million bpd, up 7.6 percent from 2019, the data showed.
In December, Saudi supplies were 6.94 million tons, down 0.8 percent from the same month a year earlier, while Russian volumes fell 15.7 percent to 6.2 million tons.
China’s imports of US oil more than tripled in 2020 to 19.76 million tons, or 394,000 bpd, compared to a year earlier, as companies bought crude under a trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
Imports were 3.6 million tons in December.
China’s total purchases of major US energy products, including crude, liquefied natural gas, propane, butane and coal, were worth $9.784 billion in 2020, about 38.7 percent of the $25.3 billion target set out in the Phase 1 trade deal.
Saudi Arabia has played catch up as a supplier since November by cutting prices to woo customers, overtaking Russia, which had led for most of 2020 with more flexible transport options and geographical proximity to Chinese refiners.
US sanctions nearly choked off oil exports from Iran and Venezuela, while Iraq was the main beneficiary.
Iraq’s oil exports to China rose 16.1 percent to 60.12 million tons in 2020, making it China’s third largest oil supplier.
Cashing in on lower prices and with aggressive marketing to China’s independent refiners, Brazil expanded oil exports to China to become its fourth biggest supplier last year.
Brazil’s oil exports to China rose 5.1 percent to 42.19 million tons.
Saudi Arabia pips Russia to be China’s biggest oil supplier in 2020
https://arab.news/8nkbr
Saudi Arabia pips Russia to be China’s biggest oil supplier in 2020
- Oil demand in China, the world’s top oil importer, remained strong last year
- Saudi shipments to China in 2020 rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier to 84.92 million tons
Saudi tourism employment surpasses 1m as hospitality sector expands
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s tourism workforce surpassed 1 million in the third quarter of 2025, underscoring the sector’s rapid expansion as the Kingdom continues to develop its hospitality infrastructure and visitor economy.
According to the latest Tourism Establishments Statistics report released by the General Authority for Statistics, the total number of employees in tourism activities reached approximately 1,009,691 in the third quarter of 2025, marking a 6.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, when employment stood at 948,629.
The growth in employment comes alongside a significant rise in the number of licensed tourism hospitality facilities, which increased by 40.6 percent year on year to reach 5,622 in the third quarter. Of these, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities accounted for 52.6 percent, while hotels represented 47.4 percent.
The robust growth reflected in the latest tourism statistics aligns directly with the goals of Vision 2030, as the Kingdom aims to double tourism’s gross domestic product contribution to 10 percent. The sector is also seeking to create 1.6 million jobs, and attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030.
The report showed that non-Saudi employees made up the majority of the tourism workforce, numbering 764,520 and accounting for 75.7 percent of the total. Saudi nationals employed in the sector reached 245,171, representing 24.3 percent of all tourism workers.
In terms of gender distribution, male employees dominated the sector with 875,658 workers, while female employees totaled 134,033, making up just 13.3 percent of the workforce.
Hotel performance showed positive momentum, with the average room occupancy rate rising to 49.1 percent during the quarter, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 46.1 percent in the same period a year earlier.
In contrast, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities experienced a slight dip in occupancy, recording 57.4 percent compared to 58 percent in the same quarter of 2024.
The average daily room rate in hotels decreased by 3.6 percent to SR341 ($90.9), down from SR354 in the third quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, serviced apartments and similar facilities saw their average daily rate rise by 4.1 percent to SR208, up from SR200 a year earlier.
The average length of stay in hotels was 4.1 nights, down 1 percent from 4.2 nights in the third quarter of 2024. For serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities, the average stay was 2.1 nights, reflecting a marginal decrease of 0.2 percent year-on-year.
The statistics draw on administrative records, surveys and secondary data to capture activity across the Kingdom’s tourism sector, GASTAT said.
