Saudi Arabia Considers Petroyuan Adoption and Strengthening China Ties, According to Industry Minister: An Exclusive Insight

Special Report | Saudi Arabia shows interest in petroyuan and strengthening relations with China, says minister

Saudi Arabia's industry minister reveals the country's readiness to experiment in its relations with China, Chinese corporations are invited.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-khorayef, made these remarks as the nation has developed a tighter relationship with China, despite the growing competition between China and the United States, a long-standing ally of Saudi Arabia.

"Petroyuan doesn't hold significant value for us at the ministry. We trust that Saudi Arabia will always act in its own best interests. However, I believe Saudi Arabia is always ready to experiment and receptive to fresh perspectives. We strive to keep politics separate from trade," Khorayef expressed during a discussion on Saturday in Hong Kong.

The increased acceptance of the "petroyuan", a term referring to China's currency used in international crude oil transactions, is commonly seen as the following phase in the yuan's globalization. It also presents a challenge to the US dollar's dominant role in worldwide commodity markets.

The utilization of the currency has expanded – parallel to commerce with Russia, which is China's primary provider of crude imports – after the United States excluded Moscow from its dollar system due to Russia's intrusion into Ukraine in February 2022.