SPEECH: Remarks by Yasser M. Mufti at Qingdao Multinationals Summit

Vice Chairman Zhang, Party Secretary Lin, Governor Zhou, Vice Minister Li, Your excellencies, distinguished leaders, fellow executives, colleagues and friends, zao shang hao and good morning. 

I want to thank the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong Provincial Government for hosting us today and extending such warm hospitality.

It is a pleasure to be here in China, and before I begin I want to congratulate your impressive athletes on their performances at this summer’s Olympic Games. I know Shandong played a significant role with local athletes winning gold medals in canoeing, table tennis and rapid pistol fire. 

The success of the Chinese team was a fitting tribute in the year of the glorious 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. 

And so much has been achieved since that historic moment. The world has watched in wonder and awe as unparalleled economic transformation has swept the nation, with profound effects globally. 

China’s historic role as a leading voice in regional and global affairs has been restored. And when China puts its mind to something, no-one doubts that China will deliver.

As an economic and cultural powerhouse, Shandong has been central to that success over the past seven decades. 

Through wise leadership and careful planning, the Province’s energy industry has played a crucial role in powering national and international progress. And with a determination to accelerate the development of lower carbon solutions, Shandong remains an incredibly important part of China’s energy future.

That’s why Shandong is now an important part of Aramco’s energy future, too.

I am responsible for the Products supplied around the world by Aramco to our customers. It is no surprise that opportunities for new partnerships around the world land on my desk every day. 

But our size and scale means we can afford to be highly selective in our growth and investment strategies. It’s why we have frequently chosen to invest in China because we believe in its long-term growth potential. And why we are proud and determined to be China’s partner of first resort. 

I know this is a sentiment echoed by my colleagues who have stood here before me. 

Both Aramco chief executive Mr. Amin Nasser and our Downstream president Mr. Mohammed Al Qahtani extend their best wishes and appreciation to partners and friends they have met here in Qingdao.

Last year, Mr. Qahtani said we are only writing the early chapters of a much longer partnership story. We’ve already written much in the last 12 months by finding common ground, where we can accelerate action on the ground.

This approach of win-win accelerated action is helping us meet Shandong’s needs of today, while ensuring there is an affordable, reliable, and lower carbon energy future for the Province going forward.

This is part of our commitment to be an all-inclusive source of energy and chemicals to China more broadly, supporting energy security, and its ambitions for accelerated high-quality development, articulated so powerfully by President Xi. 

For example, we were delighted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding at this Summit last year, putting us a step closer to acquiring part of Shandong Yulong. This agreement would see us supply brand new refineries with crude oil and other feedstock. And we are encouraged by the good will on display from all sides as this deal moves closer to a win-win reality on the ground.

The same can be said of our work in Gulei, Fujian to develop a refinery and petrochemical complex. We are making great progress with our partners SABIC and Sinopec. And this year we were pleased to come to an agreement with the Hengli Group about acquiring a stake in Hengli Petrochemical. 

The company operates facilities in Liaoning, Jiangsu, and Guangdong, and a deal would increase the size of our Chinese footprint even further. The progress we are making together shows we are not just here to sign Memorandums of Understanding, but to actively accelerate China’s high-quality development.

So we will continue to make these kinds of strategic investments which are essential to developing a world-class, integrated Downstream sector here in China, helping realize the vision of President Xi. 

At the same time, we welcome Chinese investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and plan to both widen and deepen our collaboration with companies operating there. And Aramco are not only investing in products, but in people too.

Three years ago we were proud to open our first office here in Qingdao, where our countrymen work side-by-side, sharing experience and expertise, and the joy of making real progress together.

And for more than 25 years now, Aramco has been sponsoring Saudi students to come learn the language, entering higher education across China and get an incredible experience of Chinese way of life.

We are delighted that this now includes female students too. These young people not only learn Mandarin, but gain fluency in other important areas like business and culture, bringing our nations closer together. Because we believe that diversity makes us stronger.

And by adding different experiences and different ways of thinking gained here in China, we all benefit. In fact, we may even have a future Aramco CEO who was educated at a Chinese university. 

These investments in both people and products will help us to achieve our shared goals set out in Saudi Vision 2030 and China’s Belt and Road initiative, proving how mutually beneficial our relationship can be.

Ladies and gentlemen, the future for Shandong is bright, with Aramco backing Shandong all the way.

Maintaining the momentum we have already built will help us write the next chapter of our story together, one that can rightly take its place alongside many others in this storied land. 

Thank you all and xiè xie.