File photo used for representation only
A number of Chinese companies are keen to partner with Qatar in developing and producing technological solutions on new energy such as car batteries and chips which are used in electric cars, according to an official.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the ‘Post-Pandemic Economic Development Forum’ yesterday, Pegasus Wong, Chairman of the Belt and Road China-Arab Investment and Trade Association, which organised the event, said Qatar and China will witness a stronger economic cooperation from this year moving forward, as economies recover from the pandemic. “Also, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has started to diversify its investments on new energy. These two years, they are looking in Asia for partnerships in new energy like the car batteries, technological solutions and electric cars,” said Wong.
He added that some Chinese manufacturers of fast chargers for electric cars as well as robots used in airports are also interested to bring their technologies to the Qatari market. It may be noted that the Qatar Free Zones Authority has previously signed an agreement with China’s Yutong to manufacture electric buses. Wong said there will be more such partnerships between Qatar and China.
Pegasus Wong, Chairman of the Belt and Road China-Arab Investment and Trade Association
“There’s still a lot to come. We know that there are a lot of Chinese companies that are coming to Qatar before and after the World Cup. They will be coming over in partnership with local private sector companies, besides the government. Also, last year, China has announced that it still needs a sustainable LNG supply, and Qatar is also one of its good partners on this,” Wong added.
In September, Qatar has signed a 15-year deal to sell 3.5 million mt/year of LNG to China.
“The Belt and Road Initiative is ongoing. China is a huge friendly market. And we will see a lot of exports, and cooperation, or some joint venture projects that will happen with the whole GCC market soon,” said Wong.
