Chinese solar firms to build Saudi Arabia projects worth $3 billion

Western tariffs on solar panels and wind turbine parts have pushed Beijing to look to the Gulf as its main export hub for cheap green technology, with Riyadh a top customer. “Chinese solar panel companies have become the dominant force in Saudi Arabia’s clean energy market,” Right Silver, a Hangzhou-based solar cell manufacturer, wrote on WeChat. Chinese investment also aids the kingdom’s political ambitions of diversifying its economy away from oil and becoming a “big player in clean power,” Bloomberg reported.

Chinese electric vehicle makers are also eyeing the Middle East as they seek to divert their exports following setbacks in the West, according to the South China Morning Post. But their strategy is somewhat different than in other markets: unlike Europe and Latin America, where BYD and other Chinese EV-makers have made headway with ultra-cheap vehicles, companies such as Nio — a luxury EV manufacturer — are expanding fastest in the Middle East and securing funding from local investors, because Gulf customers tend to favor high-end vehicles over lower-cost models.

With Riyadh eyeing nuclear energy, Beijing has emerged as the top contender in helping the Kingdom build its first reactors. But China’s ambitions extend beyond Saudi Arabia: Turkey is also considering Beijing as a partner as it expands its nuclear energy infrastructure. While Russia helped construct Turkey’s first nuclear reactor, Ankara is hoping to find a more geopolitically stable investor, Voice of America reported. Washington too has expressed interest in helping Turkey achieve its nuclear energy ambitions, but the country is more likely to choose Beijing because “the West is not prepared to bring finance to Turkey,” one Turkish energy consultant told VOA.