Saudi Aramco offers China partnership in energy transition

Saudi Aramco has pledged a 50-year partnership with China in energy and closer co-operation to develop new technologies to combat climate change. (Shutterstock/File Photos)
Short Url
Updated 23 March 2021
Follow

Saudi Aramco offers China partnership in energy transition

  • Saudi Arabia also sees big potential in supplying China’s requirements for refined products and petrochemicals

DUBAI: Saudi Aramco has pledged a 50-year partnership with China in energy and closer co-operation to develop new technologies to combat climate change.

Speaking at the 2021 China Development Forum, Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said: “Ensuring the continuing security of China’s energy needs remains our highest priority – not just for the next five years but for the next 50 and beyond.

“To help China meet its innovation, modernization, and sustainability goals, Aramco’s Research Center in Beijing is already working with Chinese universities and companies in areas such as cleaner engine-fuel systems of the future, catalytic crude-to-chemicals technology, and focusing heavily on reducing and removing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Saudi Arabia also sees big potential in supplying China’s requirements for refined products and petrochemicals, as well as new fuel technologies.

READ MORE

Saudi Aramco was the only consistently profitable oil company among the world’s leading producers in 2020, a year characterized as “unprecedented and difficult” by Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser. Click here to read more.

“Additional collaboration is likely on blue hydrogen from hydrocarbon resources and low carbon products; blue ammonia; synthetic fuels; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; and materials science,” Nasser said.

China is the world’s biggest energy importer, and Saudi Arabia is already one of its biggest suppliers of crude oil.

“As a new era begins, we look forward to contributing even more to China’s economic development and common prosperity. Every step of the way we aim to be side-by-side with our Chinese partners, delivering these strategic, value-adding, parallel priorities,” he said.

President Xi Jinping announced last year that China was aiming to become a “net zero” energy economy by 2060.

Nasser said: “We appreciate that sustainable energy solutions are crucial to a faster and smoother global energy transition. So are realistic roadmaps and practical priorities.

“One priority is developing new energy infrastructure, fixing the technical and economic challenges new sources of energy face. But realistically this will take some time since there are few alternatives to oil in many areas,” the Aramco CEO said.


Saudi Arabia leads outcome-based education to prepare future-ready generations: Harvard Business Review

A Harvard sign is seen at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 27, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 10 February 2026
Follow

Saudi Arabia leads outcome-based education to prepare future-ready generations: Harvard Business Review

  • The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s education system is undergoing a sweeping transformation aligned with Vision 2030, shifting from traditional, input-focused methods to outcome-based education designed to equip students with future-ready skills, Harvard Business Review Arabic reported.

The transformation is being adopted and spearheaded by institutions such as Al-Nobala Private Schools, which introduced the Kingdom’s first national “learning outcomes framework,” aimed at preparing a generation of leaders and innovators for an AI-driven future, the report said.

Al-Nobala has leveraged international expertise to localize advanced learning methodologies.

The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts. The school’s group approach combines traditional values with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication, innovation and digital fluency.

According to the report, the shift addresses the growing gap between outdated models built for low-tech, resource-constrained environments and today’s dynamic world, where learners must navigate real-time information, virtual platforms, and smart technologies.

“This is not just about teaching content, it’s about creating impact,” the report noted, citing how Al-Nobala’s model prepares students to thrive in an AI-driven world while aligning with national priorities.

The report noted that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education has paved the way for this shift by transitioning from a centralized controller to a strategic enabler, allowing schools such as Al-Nobala to tailor their curriculum to meet evolving market and societal needs. This is part of the long-term goal to place the Kingdom among the top 20 global education systems.

Al-Nobala’s work, the report stated, has succeeded in serving the broader national effort to link education outcomes directly to labor market demands, helping to fulfill the Vision 2030 pillar of building a vibrant society with a thriving economy driven by knowledge and innovation.

Last February, Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Saudi Arabia’s minister of education, said that the Kingdom was making “an unprecedented investment in education,” with spending aligned to the needs of growth and development. He said that in 2025, education received the second-largest share of the state budget, totaling $53.5 billion.