Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is set to visit China next week. (Photo : Getty Images)
Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to be in China to meet with top level government officials on Monday, according to an announcement made by foreign ministry this week.
The crown prince will be meeting Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and other officials. The talks are intended to cover topics on oil exports and power.
The two countries are expected to sign memorandums on cooperation on the two sectors.
Mohammed is also set to discuss the plans of Saudi Aramco to go public. Five percent of its shares will be offered as part of Saudi Arabia's five-year reform plan.
The main concern for the crown prince is further opening up of the Chinese market to oil importation. China is the second largest global importer of oil.
Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said,
"At a difficult time like this, it is natural for Saudi Arabia to turn to China, the world's second-largest oil importer. I expect a relatively good deal for both sides during the visit."
A deal would be necessary for Saudi to gain more access to the Chinese market as it faces stiff competition with Iran and Russia, according to the expert.
Reports from Bloomberg indicated that China is already importing 1.07 million barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia or 14 percent of China's foreign oil supply.
Wang Jun, deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges' Department of Information, said that importation from Saudi is promising as China's market is huge.
"Our strategic crude oil inventory only covers about 30 days, which is low, compared to other countries' 180-day stock. Furthermore, China's oil storage infrastructure has improved significantly and can store much more oil now, so there is a huge potential," he said.
The importation of oil is needed to augment the shortage of supply as local refineries have been severely losing sales, based on reports released by state-owned PetroChina.
