Riyadh: China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel has joined forces with Saudi Aramco and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund to set up a steel plant in the Middle Eastern nation as the two countries deepen commercial ties.
The complex in Ras Al-Khair will churn out up to 1.5 million tons of steel plates annually, with output expected to start by 2026, the world’s largest steelmaker said on its WeChat account. The venture - Baosteel’s first full-process production base overseas - will have furnaces that cut carbon emissions.
Beijing and Riyadh have been beefing up their ties in recent years, with close to $50 billion of investment agreements inked during a China summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2022. In addition, Saudi Aramco announced a brace of deals with Chinese companies earlier this year that add up to commitments to ship nearly 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the country for making chemicals.
The statement from Baosteel didn’t specify the companies’ financial commitments for the planned steel facility.
