RIYADH: Business professionals from China are optimistic that events like the Arab-China Business Conference will help strengthen economic ties between the world’s second-largest economy and the region.
They urged Chinese companies to explore opportunities in the Arab world particularly Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom is rapidly transforming into an economic powerhouse.
Lin Shunjie, chairman of China International Exhibition Center Group, told Arab News that his visit to the Kingdom had opened doors of new business opportunities between his country and the Arab world.
Lin is among several Chinese businessmen who are in Riyadh to take part in the 10th Arab-China Business Conference that began on Sunday. The two-day event aims to bring China and the Arab world closer by showcasing investment opportunities in the region and serve as a platform to help members of the business communities from both sides meet and share ideas.
Talking to Arab News, Lin said the trade volume between China and the Arab world is steadily increasing. He said strategies should be devised to “encourage Chinese companies to make more investments in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.”
The businessman called on both sides to increase cooperation to improve the global supply chain as China and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are key global players.
Lin also called on Chinese investors to invest in industrial parks that are being developed in the Kingdom. He said that Chinese companies should take advantage of the privileges being offered at these facilities.
He also emphasized the importance of energy transition and the use of clean energy. Lin was of the view that China and the Arab world can also increase cooperation on renewables as it is a fast-growing sector with huge investment potential.
“The other thing is clean energy. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are always on the upstream of the gas and oil supply chain in the world. But I think you can do more with China to improve the added value from the upstream to the middle stream at least, and even to the downstream, which means we should move more production facilities from China to Arab countries.”
Talking to Arab News, Jessica Wong, managing partner of eWTP Arabia Capital, said the number of Chinese companies is rising in the Kingdom.
“In the last three and a half years we successfully brought 18 companies into this market. Most of them actually have already achieved quite successful benchmarks here.”
She added: “We believe that by having a commitment to the local market, by building our trust with our local partners step by step, we will definitely be able to understand what kind of governance (is needed), what kind of structure each of us will be able to develop” for smooth business operations in future.
The eWTP Arabia Capital official stressed the need to make joint efforts and share experiences for a fruitful outcome. “Venture capital, actually, always has been considered as ‘smart money,’” she said.
