Saudi Aramco Asia President Says China Investment Projects Exceed RMB 240 Billion

The global energy landscape is undergoing profound changes with uncertainties continuing to rise. Saleh Al-Zaid, president of Saudi Aramco Asia, said Aramco has always been confident in China's investment environment and market potential, viewing China as a key pillar of its long-term global strategy. In recent years, Aramco has expanded its business footprint in China, with total investment projects in the country exceeding RMB 240 billion, of which Aramco's own investment surpasses RMB 90 billion. To date, Aramco and its affiliated companies have established nine joint ventures in China.

Al-Zaid noted that China's importance to Aramco is reflected in three aspects: China is a major global consumer market for energy and chemical products and a key engine of demand growth; China is a priority investment region for Aramco's integrated downstream business development; and China is an important partner for Aramco in driving innovation and industrial upgrading. Cooperation between Aramco and China is accelerating toward future industries and frontier technologies, with the scope extending from upstream raw material supply to downstream chemicals, advanced materials and other full value chain segments.

In 2024, Aramco signed a five-year cooperation framework agreement with China National Building Material Group, with potential areas of collaboration including wind turbine blades, hydrogen storage tanks and low-carbon building materials. Aramco also jointly established a non-metallic materials innovation center with the China Building Materials Academy under CNBM, to promote innovation and development of non-metallic and low-carbon materials and facilitate their application in the construction and building materials sectors.

China has become an important part of Aramco's global innovation and research network. Aramco's Beijing R&D Center serves as a key platform for research collaboration and technological innovation. The company maintains close cooperation with leading Chinese research institutions and universities in joint research and technology development across geology, geophysics, advanced oilfield chemicals, refining and chemicals, and sustainable transportation.

In 2007, Aramco and Sinopec, together with other partners, established two joint ventures in Fujian - Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Company and Sinopec SenMei (Fujian). After nearly two decades of development, the two joint ventures have become exemplar projects of cooperation between Aramco and its Chinese and international partners. Al-Zaid said the success of these projects stems from the solid strategic alignment and mutual trust built among partners, forming broad consensus around the development goals of ensuring stable supply, promoting industrial upgrading and achieving mutual benefit; both joint ventures fully leverage each party's strengths, maintaining high operational efficiency, sound profitability and strong resilience to navigate challenges across different market cycles; and both sides have consistently adhered to a localization and long-term investment approach.

Aramco and China have cooperation potential across multiple areas, including carbon capture, utilization and storage, blue hydrogen and blue ammonia solutions that help reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, as well as advanced materials and chemical innovation technologies that improve energy efficiency. Al-Zaid said Aramco hopes to deepen cooperation in these areas to work with Chinese partners on pragmatic and viable energy transition solutions, achieving a balance between ensuring energy supply security, enhancing energy system reliability and promoting economic growth.