UMUT ERGUNSÜ
HURRIYET DAILY - February/19/2016
As the second biggest economy in the world with an official GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2015, China has to satisfy its growing oil and gas requirements. Furthermore, in order to manage the transition to steadier and more sustainable economic growth, it needs to find new markets to export its products. The Middle East is an excellent partner for China to achieve the aforementioned goals. China is either the biggest or second-biggest trading partner for Middle Eastern countries, leaving Europe and Japan far behind but trailing the United States. In the near future, however, it will overtake the U.S. to top the list of trading partners of the region as a whole. China-Middle East trade has increased dramatically in recent years, growing by more than 600 percent in the past decade to $230 billion in 2014. The trade is driven by China’s growing oil demand. In 2015, China became the world’s biggest importer of crude oil, more than half of which came from the Middle East. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2035, China’s imports from the region will double. China’s exports to the region mostly consist of electronic products, clothing, toys, chemicals and even cars.
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