China-Middle East commercial ties enjoying a ‘renaissance’ as politics, trade spats strengthen shift from West, consultancy says
- China’s fractious trade relations with the West are strengthening bonds with the Arab world, Oliver Wyman says
- China and the Middle East saw their trade volume nearly double to US$507.2 billion in 2022 from 2017
China’s fractious trade relations with the US and its allies are strengthening diplomatic and commercial ties between the two regions, said Ben Simpfendorfer, a Hong Kong-based partner at the management consulting firm.
“China’s commercial relations with the Middle East are experiencing a renaissance,” he said in an interview. “The past few years have been transformative. It’s no longer a story of simply trading oil and consumer goods, it’s now a much broader and deeper relationship.”
Trade data over the past six years underlines the shift. China and the Middle East traded US$507.2 billion of goods in 2022, according to customs data, double the level in 2017. Trade with the Middle East rose 27 per cent in 2022, surpassing the growth with Southeast Asian nations (15 per cent), the European Union (5.6 per cent) and the US (3.7 per cent).
“What we are seeing is that Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are increasingly investing in other markets,” Simpfendorfer said. “They are beginning to open up factories in the emerging markets, [while] also looking at options in Europe or the US. That is an encouraging dynamic, because it does help to ease trade tensions and support employment growth in other markets.”
