The Conference will have more than 150 speakers

The conference includes 8 panel discussions, 18 workshops, and several special meetings and events.

A group of senior Arab and Chinese officials will discuss the prospects for greater cooperation.

Riyadh: The Ministry of Investment (MISA) has announced the agenda of the Arab China Business Conference, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister taking place June 11-12, 2023. A group of more than 3,000 senior officials, decision-makers and business leaders from China and the Arab world are expected to participate in the Conference.

The conference is being hosted by Saudi Arabia for the first time and is being organized by MISA, in partnership with General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, the Union of Arab Chambers and the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade. It aims to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the Arab and Chinese business communities, and to explore investment opportunities in technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, minerals, and others.

In advance of the event, His Excellency (H.E) Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, stated: “I would like to thank His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his sponsorship of this event. This demonstrates how this Conference will be a major milestone in the development of the strategic partnership between the Arab world and China.”

“We look forward to welcoming business leaders, innovators and policymakers from China and the Arab world to discuss how to deepen the strong economic and cultural ties between our regions even further. The Conference includes a rich program of over 150 speakers, with eight dialogue sessions, 18 workshops and a number of special meetings and side events.”

The agenda for the conference is set out below.

Day One
The Conference will begin with opening remarks from His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs; H.E Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment; Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League; and Wang Yongqing, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The first session will discuss "investment and financing along the Belt and Road Initiative" and will be attended by H.E Abdulsalam Al Murshidi, President, Oman Investment Authority; H.E Muhammad Al-Tuwaijri, Advisor at the Royal Court and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Development Fund; and H.E. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt.

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Energy, will also take part in a plenary interview in which he will discuss the subject of "Saudi Arabia and China – the new energy transition”. There will also be a discussion on “Giga Projects – reimagining future cities” with Nadhmi AlNasr, CEO, NEOM and Jerry Inzerillo, CEO, Ad Diriyah Gate Development Authority.

The second session will focus on "Clean Energy and Renewables – Pathways to Emissions Reduction". Participating in the session are H.E. Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan; Marco Archelli, CEO of ACWA Power - Saudi Arabia; Mohamed Al-Ramahi; Yasser M. Mufti, Senior Vice President, Saudi Aramco; and Fanglu Wang, Senior Managing Director & Managing Partner, CITIC Capital ESG Group, China. 

The third session will discuss the role of tourism and entertainment in diversifying the economy. The session will be split into two panels – the first panel will include H.E Ahmed AlKhateeb, Saudi Minister of Tourism and H.E Mohamad Warsama Dirieh, Minister of Tourism and Commerce of Djibouti; and the second panel will include Her Highness Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al Saud, Deputy Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia; Amr AlMadani, CEO, Royal Commission for AlUla, Saudi Arabia; and Andrew Kam, CEO,  Asia Pacific, Haichang Ocean Park Holding, China.

The fourth session will discuss the issue of food security and agriculture as a key to unlocking development capabilities. The participants will include H.E Abdulrahman AlFadley, Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture; H.E Dr. Muhammed Sulaiman Al Jasser, President, Islamic Development Bank; and Abdullah AlBader, CEO, AlMarai, Saudi Arabia.

The first day will also include additional sessions on the Saudi transformation journey with H.E Faisal Al Ibrahim, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, and opportunities in capital markets with Laura Cha, Chairwoman, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), Hong Kong SAR. There will also be a keynote address from Dilma Rousseff, President, New Development Bank.

Day Two
The fifth session, entitled "Industry, Mining and Minerals – Future Proofing Key Sectors", will include H.E Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan; HE Abdullah Fakhroo, Minister of Commerce and industry, Bahrain; and Zhang Mengxing, President, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd.

The sixth session will discuss how to enhance resilience in the logistics, supply chain and infrastructure sectors. Speakers include H.E Engineer Saleh Al-Jasser, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics and Henadi Al Saleh, Chairman Agility, Kuwait; and Dr. Brian Hongdi Gu, Co-President, Xpeng, China.

During the seventh session the participants will discuss healthcare and biopharma and the speakers will include H.E Fahad AlJalajl, Saudi Minister of Health; H.E Khalid AbdulGhafar Ministry of Health, Egypt; Dr. Yin Ye, CEO, BGI, China; and Dr. Jin Li FRSC, Chairman, and CEO of HitGen Inc. Healthcare, China.

The eighth session will discuss the issue of the digital economy and AI, and how to harness efforts to achieve the highest levels of productivity and growth. Speaking at the session will be H.E Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Minister of Communications & Information Technology; George Huang, CEO of the International Business Group of the Chinese company "Sense Time"; and Tonny Bao, Senior Vice President, Huawei, China.

The ninth session will discuss "Financial Sector Powering Arab-China Business Growth". Participating in the session will be H.E Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa, CEO, Mumtalakat; Tong Li, CEO of China International Bank Holding Company; Dr. QI Bin, Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Investment Officer, CIC, China; and Tariq Al Sadhan, CEO Riyad Bank.
The closing session of the Conference will focus on the future of Chinese-Arab trade relations over the next five years. Participating in the session will be Zhang Li, founder and CEO of the Chinese Envision Group; Muhammad Abu Nayan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi ACWA Power; Yin Yi, CEO of the Chinese BGI Group; Abdul Rahman Al-Faqih, CEO, and member of the Executive Board of SABIC; and Muhammad Al-Abbar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emaar Properties, UAE.

The conference will also include several sectoral sessions covering a range of topics including the oil and gas supply chain, global supply chain challenges, innovation and research partnerships, future gaming and e-sports and MENA financing investment opportunities. There will be a large number of senior speakers participating in these sessions including H.E. Dr. Khaled Hanafi, Secretary-General, Union of Arab Chambers; H.R.H. Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, President, Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports; and Sun Xinrong, Chairman, BC Capital, China.