China is ramping up support for the development of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) and accelerating technology innovation to consolidate the industry's advantage, officials said at an industrial forum on Saturday.

The NEV industry in China is expected to see continued growth this year, building on its success in 2023, thanks to a competitive edge in the industry chain, experts said.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, called on key NEV manufacturers to focus on quality improvement, cost reduction, technological innovation and international cooperation to consolidate and expand their development advantages. Zheng made the comments at the 2024 China EV 100 Forum held in Beijing on Saturday.

The development of China's NEV industry demonstrates economic vitality, manufacturing improvement and China's commitment addressing climate change, Zheng said.

The forum, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, witnessed every milestone in the industry's development. 

In the past decade, China's production and sales of NEVs have increased from 75,000 to 9.5 million annually, adding a new bright spot to China's manufacturing industry, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology Shan Zhongde said at the same forum.

In 2023, production of NEVs exceeded 9.58 million, up 35.8 percent year-on-year. Sales hit 9.49 million, up 37.9 percent, while exports soared 77.6 percent to more than 1.2 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

In the first two months of 2024, production reached 1.252 million, up 28.2 percent, and sales reached 1.207 million, up 29.4 percent, according to the CAAM.

Addressing the development of Chinese NEVs, Shan said it is necessary to uphold fair and transparent economic and trade rules on the international level, while strengthening the development of vehicle chips and basic software, and continuously improving the low-temperature adaptability, safety and charging convenience of NEVs on the domestic front.

The remarks by senior Chinese officials clarified the strong support for the development of NEVs at the national level, Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

In the domestic market, encouraging policies for trade-ins will continue to benefit buyers. Despite uncertainties in EU and US import policies, Chinese NEVs remain competitive in the overseas market, Wu said.

By establishing research and development facilities, sales centers and even complete vehicle factories in overseas markets, Chinese electric vehicles are effectively mitigating risks, Wu noted.

Shan said that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will enhance support for the high-quality, systematic and overseas expansion of China's NEV industry.

The ministry will tackle key technologies such as batteries, chips, operating systems and autonomous driving in order to enhance the resilience and competitiveness of China's NEV industry. It also pledged to improve the policy system to support leading enterprises to grow larger and stronger while phasing out outdated companies. 

The MIIT also vowed to expand NEV trade-ins, consumption of connected vehicles and trials of high-level autonomous driving in urban areas. The ministry is also committed to assisting NEV companies to expand overseas and it welcomes global auto companies to invest in China.

China's NEV advantages lie in its large-scale production capabilities, low costs, high quality, accumulated experience and leadership in smart technology, Zhang Xiang, visiting professor at the Engineering Department of Huanghe Science and Technology University, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

The next stage of development should be focused on core technological innovation such as intelligent connectivity and autonomous driving, as well as advances in automotive chips, operating systems and software, Zhang said.

The Government Work Report delivered at this year's national legislature session stressed the role of the automotive industry in stimulating consumption and enhancing the country's industrial competitive advantage. 

China will boost spending on intelligent connected NEVs, consolidate the advantage of connected vehicles and build more charging facilities, among the tasks for 2024, according to the Government Work Report.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, on Wednesday criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan for jeopardizing the island's chip industry by catering to external forces. It comes amid growing concerns on the island about the future of the critical industry.

At a press briefing, Chen was asked to comment on a recent article about how the US' so-called CHIPS Act could hurt Taiwan's chip industry.

Chen pointed out that the article reflects serious concerns about the DPP authorities catering to external forces without any principle or bottom line, as well as concerns that Taiwan's key industries are being hollowed out, that core enterprises have been suppressed, and competitive advantages have been weakened.

"If Taiwan's economic autonomy in industrial development and its sway in the global production and supply chain are lost, how much 'family fortune' will it still have? In the end, it will only become an 'abandoned piece' instead of a 'chess piece,'" Chen said. "So the views of these industry experts are by no means alarmist."

The article was published jointly on February 26 by three leading figures in Taiwan's chip industry, cautioning that the US "CHIPS Act" could undermine Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and strangle the island's semiconductor industry.

In the article, "How America's CHIPS Act hurts Taiwan," Burn Lin, former R&D vice president of TSMC, pointed out that "the US CHIPS Act is so poorly designed that it is likely to undercut Taiwan's TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, and leave the entire industry even more vulnerable than it already is."

The article, which was published by Project Syndicate, was also signed by many other experts from Taiwan and has sparked heated discussion in political and business circles in the island, with some pointing out that the DPP authorities are using semiconductor manufacturers like TSMC as a bargaining chip by forcing them to build factories abroad in order to attract external forces to "support Taiwan."

The so-called CHIPS and Science Act, which was approved by the administration of President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022, plans to hand out $52 billion in subsidies to lure semiconductor manufacturers to relocate to the US, with the aim of maintaining and advancing its scientific and technological edge.

Taiwan's semiconductor industry has become a key target for US officials and TSMC has been effectively coerced to step up building plants in the US.

Chinese officials have repeatedly slammed the protectionist US moves and crackdown measures in the chip industry, saying that US export controls and suppression of Chinese semiconductor companies are acts of economic bullying.

China's central government has unveiled this year's GDP growth target, at about 5 percent, on par with last year's rate. The target has made market investors rejoice, giving them higher confidence in an across-the-board revival of China-related equities and other assets in the coming months. As expected, the country's A-share market has held on to strong gains in the past two weeks of robust trading.

But not all are elated with China's growth target. A good number of Western politicians and media pundits have claimed it is "too aggressive and lofty," a goal that may not be pulled off. Some of them are annoyed and disgruntled with China's resolve, and have started to curse the Chinese economy, predicting it will "capsize" and never close the current gap with the GDP of the US in nominal terms.

It's laughable and mean to diminish and denigrate others' economies. Last year, amid the Western media chorus of "China's economic collapse," the country's GDP expanded by 5.2 percent over a year earlier, with yearly added output value of more than 6 trillion yuan ($835 billion).

Compared with 2023, when China had just bid goodbye to the protracted and distressing three-year pandemic, there are better and riper conditions now to pursue a growth rate of about 5 percent in 2024. The lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been largely eliminated, and nearly all the fundamentals of the economy have been rehabilitated and shored up, which paves the way for a possible takeoff this year.

The central government is ready to fuel the economy in 2024 with a volley of growth-reinforcing stimulus policies, to be whipped up by a new mandate - brewing new quality productive forces to help build a stronger and greater country.

China is currently leading in the global endeavor in green and renewable energy, in electric vehicle and high-end battery development, in high-speed mobile telecom networks and railway roll-outs, in autonomous driving, deep space, modern robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other advanced sectors of information technology research and development. Naturally and consequentially, the country will be a front-runner in finding and creating new quality productive forces.

During a press conference held at the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress recently, China's leading economic planners and policymakers discussed the magnitude of macro stimulus and overall policy direction for this year and beyond.

Collectively, officials displayed elevated confidence before global audiences that they are upbeat about realizing this year's growth targets, despite facing worldwide volatility including wars, conflicts, rising economic protectionism and technology isolation.

As to whether the GDP growth target of 5 percent is attainable, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said it was set following the central government's comprehensive assessment, "taking into account current and long-term needs and possibilities" and the target is "a positive goal reachable with a jump," meaning through earnest hard work.

Lan Fo'an, the finance minister, and Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, pledged more fiscal and monetary policy support to boost the economic revival. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao announced plans for a large-scale national trade-in event this year, aiming at replacing outdated manufacturing equipment, worn-out cars and home appliances to propel domestic consumption.

Wu Qing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, vowed to significantly tighten capital market oversight to prevent irrational volatility.

Fiscally, China plans to issue an additional 3.9 trillion yuan in local government bonds in 2024 to support local government coffers, providing more financial resources for infrastructure construction and rural revitalization, including an initiative to dole out more welfare benefits to elderly rural residents.

The central government will issue ultra-long special treasury bonds starting this year and over each of the next several years to ramp up fiscal stimulus to support overall economic growth.

Monetarily, the central bank said it still has sufficient policy room in its toolbox. In contrast to other major economies, China isn't burdened by high inflation, which enables the central bank to maintain a lower interest rate policy and provide ample market liquidity. This will benefit Chinese business expansion, aid consumer spending and ratchet up overall economic activity in 2024.

Last month, the central bank reduced the benchmark five-year interest rate by 25 basis points. This move aims to ease the long-term burden on enterprises and is expected to significantly benefit the real estate sector, as the mortgage rates were lowered accordingly.

The economy has gotten off to a very strong start, as evidenced by steadily rising foreign trade. In the first two months, China's merchandise exports rose 10.3 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists who ventured out during the eight-day Chinese Lunar New Year holidays marked a staggering increase of 19 percent compared with the pre-pandemic number in 2019.

The upbeat figures show China's economic activity is rapidly gaining pace. With the government's enhanced fiscal and monetary stimulus, backed up by an improving stock market performance, the momentum for growth will accumulate and consistently build.

Provided China continues to focus on tech innovation, foster new quality productive forces and stick to the opening-up policy, typically helping its Belt and Road Initiative partners and the Global South to develop and prosper, the central government's development blueprint for 2035 - when GDP is to double from the 2020 level - isn't out of reach at all.

China's A-share market has seen a sustained rebound recently, with multiple overseas financial institutions voicing intentions to boost their holdings. Analysts suggest that the influx of foreign capital serves as a barometer, and they believe that concerted measures will keep driving economic growth and market recovery in 2024.

"Global funds are returning to China stocks," Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing Morgan Stanley analysts.

Outflows from Chinese equities slowed into the end of February and regional active managers started adding growth and technology stocks, analysts said.

China's stock market is now highly attractive from a valuation standpoint, making A-shares particularly appealing, Zhu Liang, investment director of AllianceBernstein Fund Management Co, said in a note introducing the company's investment outlook in 2024.

China's listed companies are expected to maintain profit growth in 2024. It is estimated that the earnings per share of A-shares will increase about 17 percent this year. If valuation multiples remain unchanged, the profit growth suggests that the Chinese stock market should perform quite well, Zhu said.

Kinger Lau, chief China equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, and his team maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook on the Chinese stock market, anticipating that economic improvements will drive a rebound in corporate profits. Given that A-share valuations are currently at historic lows, the team maintains its "overweight" stance on A-shares, according to the company's 2024 investment outlook released via its official WeChat account in December 2023.

Goldman Sachs expects 10 percent profit growth for shares in the MSCI China Index and 11 percent profit growth for companies in the onshore CSI 300 Index in 2024.

Capital from the Middle East has continued to bet on Chinese assets, with investments spanning multiple popular sectors including new-energy vehicles, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, steel and more.

China-based E Fund Management and leading Saudi Arabian asset manager Riyad Capital have recently signed an agreement to exchange expertise and cooperate in local investment areas.

Analysts had previously expected that capital from the Middle East would increase its investment in the Chinese capital market, which could potentially bring an annual inflow of funds of about 20 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) to A-shares in the Chinese mainland and H-shares in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to financial publication stcn.com.

After hitting a low point of 2,635 on February 5, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rebounded and gained for eight straight days. It has remained above 3,000 points in recent trading sessions.

In February, A-shares reversed the trend of continuous net outflows of foreign capital seen in the previous six months. Northbound capital - overseas money flowing into China's A-share market via the Hong Kong stock exchange - increased holdings in the A-share market by a substantial 60.74 billion yuan, reaching a 13-month high.

The net buying volume of northbound capital in A-shares for the month already surpassed the total for the entire year of 2023, financial data provider Wind showed.

"The downturn in the A-share market last year deviated from China's normal economic fundamentals and the previous continuous net outflow of northbound capital was abnormal," Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the digital-real economies integration Forum 50, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Some foreign funds that engaged in malicious short-selling underestimated not only China's resolve to stabilize its capital market but also the resilience of its economy, Hu noted.

The underlying stability of the capital market should be enhanced, according to the Government Work Report submitted to the second session of the 14th National People's Congress on Tuesday.

This sets a clear direction for the reform and development of the capital market this year, addressing the concerns of all market participants, including investors, about the current state of the capital market, experts said.

Moreover, the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, will continue to strengthen the connectivity between domestic and foreign financial markets, attracting more overseas investors to the country's markets, PBC Governor Pan Gongsheng said at a press conference on Wednesday.

As of the end of January, foreign investors had been net purchasers of Chinese bonds for 12 consecutive months, with cumulative net purchases of 1.8 trillion yuan, Pan said.

Looking at the global landscape, the US Federal Reserve is expected to start a rate-cutting cycle by the second half of this year, which is likely to provide support for the yuan's performance this year. It is estimated that foreign capital inflows into A-shares for 2024 could range from 100 billion to 200 billion yuan, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Recruiters have explained job responsibilities for thousands of applicants at recruitment fairs, with job seekers rushing to these fairs. Such scenes were seen nationwide as the spring recruitment season started.

The demand for talent, especially in high-tech fields, is sharply increasing, the Global Times has learned. Analysts said that with the development of high-tech industries boosted by innovation-driven new productive forces, the demand for talent will continue to increase and more new jobs will be created.

Boosted by the rising popularity of Sora, a text-to-video model by OpenAI, the number of new jobs targeting artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) on domestic recruitment site Liepin increased by 612.5 percent in the first week after the Spring Festival holidays starting February 19, on a yearly basis.

The average annual salary has reached 443,700 yuan ($61,667). Algorithm engineers and product managers are the top two roles in demand, with algorithm engineers accounting for 18.95 percent of the open positions and product managers accounting for 12.63 percent, according to a report released by Liepin on Monday.

Emerging fields such as new energy, new manufacturing and biomedicine accounted for five of the top 10 open roles with the highest salaries in the first week after the Spring Festival holidays, according to a report Zhilian Zhaopin, a Chinese job-hunting platform, sent to the Global Times.

The number of openings posted by the new-energy, electrical and power industries increased by 14.5 percent year-on-year, read the report.

Employment conditions in 2024 are expected to be more favorable compared with last year, Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The fundamentals for economic development this year remain relatively solid. Employment in 2023 improved from quarter to quarter," said Li.

By the end of 2023, the total number of employed people in China was 740.41 million, with 470.32 million in urban areas, accounting for 63.5 percent of the total, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

The increase in newly employed people in urban areas stood at 12.44 million for the full year, 380,000 more than in 2022, said the bureau.

Although the number of new jobs continued to increase, analysts warned that the pressure on total employment and structural problems remains.

The number of college graduates in 2024 is expected to reach 11.79 million, an increase of 210,000, reaching a new high, according to the Ministry of Education.

The employment situation of college graduates is grim, but analysts said that China's high-quality development means a huge demand for well-educated workers.

The growing digital economy and the innovation-led new productive forces have created lots of new jobs, Pan Helin, a professor at Zhejiang University's International Business School, told the Global Times on Thursday.

New productive forces mean that advanced productivity has been freed from traditional economic growth models.

"The emergence of new productive forces is often accompanied by new industries, new business forms and new models. These new areas of the economy require a lot of talent, thus creating new jobs. The development of emerging industries such as the internet, big data and artificial intelligence has created new jobs," said Pan.

For example, by 2025, the total talent gap for energy-saving sectors and the new-energy vehicle industry is expected to reach 1.03 million, according to a Zhilian Zhaopin report published in January.

Analysts said that the focus should be on how to match the talent demand of enterprises with education at the university level.

"Certain industries and fields are facing challenges in hiring, particularly for skilled technicians, as talent demand continues to grow with technological advancements," said Li.

China's "demographic dividend" has been transforming into a "talent dividend," Sheng Laiyun, a deputy commissioner of the NBS, said on Thursday.

"The average length of education for China's working-age population has increased to 11.05 years, and the number of experts, scientific and technological research personnel, and research and development personnel all rank first in the world," said Sheng.

China's Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has vowed to strengthen international connectivity and global reach of its major airports, aiming to build world-class aviation enterprises and air hubs by 2050. 

CAAC will boost intercontinental connectivity and global influence of the airports in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, upgrading them into world-class aviation hubs, Han Jun, deputy administrator of CAAC, said on Wednesday. 

It is part of the administration's latest efforts to enhance transit efficiency, and streamline entry and exit process.

The CAAC will focus on elevating the capacities of major hubs in China, building international and regional hub airports in cities across China, and advancing development of air cargo hubs such as the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province.

The administration also plans to optimize resource allocation for airlines. CAAC also stressed the importance of improving operation efficiency of Chinese airports, airlines, and air traffic control, and aim to boost the overall transport capacity of aviation hubs with integrated transportation system.

Efforts will also be made to create a more convenient policy environment, by optimizing visa and immigration policies, as well as easing customs clearance.

China will play an important role in the key sectors such as logistics in helping Brazil to increase its agricultural productivity and competitiveness, Henry Osvald, president of the Brazilian Association for Industry, Commerce and Innovation in China (BraCham), told the Global Times, extending his expectations for deepening cooperation between the world's two agricultural powers.

The remarks were made as Chinese agricultural companies such as Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co and Syngenta have beefed up collaboration with their Brazilian counterparts with measures such as mergers and acquisitions. The efforts were made for better securing and diversifying food supplies, particularly soybean.

As part of recent efforts to deepen cooperation, Chinese companies such as Syngenta and Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co have made their moves this year in lining up to acquire stakes in Brazilian seed companies, according to jiemian.com .

The recent moves by the Chinese companies once again confirm that "China trusts Brazilian agricultural products to feed its population and expanding investment in Brazil makes a lot more sense," Osvald said.

Among China's major sources of agricultural imports, Brazil maintained its first rank in 2023 while further expanding the gap with the second placed US, according to a report released by China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Data show that Brazil exported $58.618 billion of agricultural products to China in 2023, accounting for 24.85 percent of China's overall agricultural imports, compared with 13.96 percent of the US.

The strong momentum of China-Brazil agricultural trade is mainly due to factors such as the increase in Brazilian soybean exports to China, the official opening of the Brazilian corn export corridor to China last year, and China's first bulk ship import of corn from Brazil, Zhang Weiqi, director of the Brazil Research Center under the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

The lingering China-US trade frictions were also a reason that prompts Chinese traders to shift from US suppliers to other sources, according to Zhang.

China and Brazil share high complementarities and potential in agricultural cooperation.

On the one hand, Brazil is one of the countries with the most advanced technologies in soil and grain. By investing in seed companies, China will not only secure the supply of grains, but also acquire some technology which can be applied locally, Osvald said.

On the other hand China can also share equipment and technology with Brazil to boost production and help the country to be more competitive, the president said.

Brazil has one of the largest agricultural lands in the world and still a lot to be expanded. We say that Brazil is the agricultural country and we are quite confident that will keep feeding the world, Osvald said.

"A lot is being done to increase productivity and competitiveness and China will also play an important role especially on the logistics side, as there are already some large Chinese players investing on railway projects in Brazil to reduce transportation costs and lead-time of agricultural products," Osvald said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil.

It is expected that both nations will seize this opportunity to elevate bilateral cooperation, setting an example for collaboration between China and Latin American countries, as well as promoting South-South cooperation, Zhang said.

Two C919 and three ARJ 21 jets, which were developed by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), debuted at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday, using various formats and performances, COMAC said in a statement sent to the Global Times. 

On the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow, China's Tibet Airlines and COMAC signed a contract for 40 high-altitude C919 planes and 10 ARJ 21 orders. Henan Civil Aviation Development & Investment Group ordered six ARJ 21 planes including fire-fighting aircraft, medical use aircraft and emergency rescue aircraft, COMAC said in a separate statement sent to the Global Times.

International debut of China's home-developed planes, together with recent achievements in the high-end manufacturing sector, underscores the country's continuous efforts and determination in bolstering its high-tech development, which will significantly propel China's economic progress in 2024, observers said. 

The large-scale participation showcased China's strong confidence in its commercial aircraft. China is able to manufacture and start the market operation of domestic commercial aircraft, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The achievement is also a major progress in the international sense, since only a few countries can manufacture commercial aircraft, Wang said. 

Wang noted that the Singapore Airshow is an opportunity to demonstrate China's manufacturing strength in high-tech products, while China's participation also showcased the country's strong willingness to explore the international market.
The Singapore Airshow, which kicked off on Tuesday and lasts until Sunday, is the largest aviation event in Asia. 

The C919 large passenger jet, which can seat up to 192 passengers and fly up to 5,555 kilometers, is equipped with advanced aerodynamic design, propulsion systems and materials, leading to lower carbon emissions and higher fuel efficiency. 

A total of four C919 jets have been delivered and safely carried more than 110,000 passengers since the plane made its maiden commercial flight on May 28, 2023. Mass production and the development of the series are both going smoothly, per the COMAC statement.

This year will be a key period to speed up mass production and deliveries of the C919, and for COMAC to integrate the industry, supply and innovation chains for the airliner while expanding in the overseas market, Qi Qi, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times.

The ARJ21 has a passenger capacity of up to 97 and a maximum flight span of 3,700 kilometers. It has good takeoff and landing performances with crosswind resistance ability at high elevations and in high temperatures. 

Since the ARJ 21 was put into commercial operation in June 2016, a total of 127 jets have been delivered, and they have safely carried more than 11 million passengers. Among them, two planes are operated by Indonesia's TransNusa Airlines on four routes based in Jakarta to five cities, and they have transported more than 100,000 passengers, according to COMAC. 

In December 2023, the C919 and the ARJ21 made their first appearance in the Hong Kong Administrative Region, marking the first time for the C919 to leave the Chinese mainland.

China has achieved fruitful results in the high-end manufacturing sector amid its rapid development and upgrading, and the continuing momentum will help the nation retain its leading position in the global competition, Pan Helin, a professor at Zhejiang University's International Business School, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The development of the high-end manufacturing sector will play a vital role for advancing China's economy this year, as it is a major representation of the new productive forces, Pan said. He added that the sector's development will also drive the development of related industry chains and create industrial agglomeration effects. 

China's first domestically produced large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, carried around 8,000 passengers in two separate voyages during the just-passed Spring Festival holidays, which is another vivid example of the country's manufacturing prowess. 

China has demonstrated its "strong momentum and broad prospects" in the development of new productive forces, the backbone of which are strategic emerging industries and industries of the future, Cai Wei, chief strategy officer of KPMG China Advisory, told the Xinhua News Agency in a recent interview. 

The share of strategic emerging industries, such as new energy, high-end equipment and biotechnology, in China's GDP surpassed 13 percent in 2022 from 7.6 percent in 2014, according to Cai. China plans to raise the level to 17 percent by 2025, per the Xinhua report.

Editor's note: Saudi Arabia, as one of the earliest countries to participate in the joint construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has demonstrated a strategic alignment with its own Vision 2030. This synchronization has injected significant momentum into the economic and trade development of  the two countries. The robust economic complementarity between the two countries creates vast opportunities for collaborative fields, ranging from energy and transportation to finance and technology. In a recent exclusive interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Yin Yeping, Mohammed A. Al Ajlan (Al Ajlan), chairman of Saudi Chinese Business Council, highlighted the fruitful results of bilateral cooperation and expressed optimism for stronger economic ties.

GT: Saudi Arabia was an early supporter of the BRI. How has Saudi businesses benefited from the participation, and what are your expectations for future bilateral cooperation in the joint construction of this initiative?

Al Ajlan: There are great opportunities for economic integration between the Kingdom and China through the "Silk Road Economic Belt," which in many aspects is consistent with Vision 2030 in terms of its directions to exploit the Kingdom's strategic location to connect the continents of the world and make it a global logistics center.

This harmony and alignment between Vision 2030 and the BRI enhances opportunities for cooperation and partnership between the two countries, helps accelerate the pace of development and its sustainability, and provides Saudi and Chinese companies with huge investment opportunities.

Chinese investments in infrastructure in the Kingdom, represented by the BRI, are estimated at about $5.5 billion. In general, Saudi and Chinese companies have benefited and will benefit in the future from the huge investment opportunities presented by both Vision 2030 and the China-proposed BRI.

GT: Since 2013, China has become Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, while Saudi Arabia has consistently been China's top trading partner in the Middle East for over 20 years. In what specific areas do you see the strongest complementarity between the two countries, and how can they enhance cooperation in these areas?

Al Ajlan: There is no doubt that the Saudi Arabia-China economic relations are strong and solid and are considered an international model to be emulated in fruitful, constructive cooperation and strategic partnership as a result of the support of the political leadership and government agencies in the two countries.

Given the volume of trade exchanges between the Kingdom and China, which amounted to about 397 billion riyals ($106 billion) in 2022, this reflects the strength of the strategic economic partnership and the diversity and multiplicity of trade and investment opportunities in the two countries.

Therefore, the areas of cooperation are open and multiple in sectors such as retail, technology, and the automobile industry, of which China holds a share of the Saudi market, in addition to energy, contracting, real estate, modern construction technology, smart cities, industry, and transportation.

Also, among the new investment areas between the two countries are the sectors such as renewable and clean energy, financial technology (fintech), tourism, entertainment, sports, and housing.

This steady development in the economic relations between the two countries came with the support of the political leadership in the Kingdom and China and this relationship is based on solid institutional frameworks such as the Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, and bilateral cooperation agreements.

The Saudi-Chinese Business Council, which includes from the Saudi side about 350 companies, plays a great role in promoting bilateral trade, contributing directly to raising the level of trade exchanges and joint investments between the Kingdom and China.

GT: The People's Bank of China and the Saudi Central Bank signed a bilateral currency swap agreement in November 2023. What practical benefits do you anticipate from this agreement in terms of strengthening financial cooperation, trade, and investment facilitation?

Al Ajlan: This is an additional option that gives importers and exporters more flexibility and freedom to choose the currency they wish to deal in.

There is no doubt that it demonstrates the extent of the interconnected relationship between the two countries and also facilitates the process of trade exchanges.

 We do not negate here the importance of being subject to the regulations of the central banks in the two countries and the requirements and regulations according to which they operate.

GT: Energy cooperation is a major focus for the two countries. In your opinion, what additional paths can be explored in energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, considering the dominance of conventional fossil fuels and the emerging trends in new-energy sources?

Al Ajlan: The Kingdom today has strong strategies and directions toward transitioning to a green economy and renewable and clean energy, and as China is considered the leading country in the global new-energy sector, the opportunities for developing investment and partnership in this field are promising between the two countries.

Chinese companies are among the largest companies in the world that manufacture solar modules, and indeed there is existing cooperation and multiple agreements between Saudi and Chinese companies in renewable energy projects, solar energy, and green hydrogen.

In the traditional sector, the Kingdom is the main supplier of oil to China, and cooperation between the two countries is great in this sector, including petrochemicals. 

Recently, Aramco signed several cooperation agreements with Chinese companies such as Rongsheng and Eastern Xinghong.

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday clarified video clip about investment plan put forward by the HKSAR Chief Executive was done by artificial intelligence (AI), and called on the public to be aware of the scam content. 

The HKSAR government said the so-called remarks by the Chief Executive in the scam video were fictitious, and condemned those who have attempted deception under the name of the Chief Executive.

The government said the incident will be referred to police for further investigation, and noticed the public to be cautious regarding similar investment-related advertisements or promotional videos, verify the authenticity of the content, and keep personal information secure. 

The AI-generated scam clip circulated online plagiarized an interview between HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and a local journalist, and forged an investment video using AI, which promoted a claimed HK$60,000 ($7,674.45) of payback per week by investing HK$2,000, according to Hong Kong media, and another scam video showed "AI-created Elon Musk" also joined the investment plan. 

Local news site TVB News reported on Thursday that Hong Kong police have not received any reports of individuals being defrauded.