China is deepening its grip on the Gulf with a multi-billion dollar investment package in Oman.
The two countries signed a package of agreements worth several billion dollars during a state visit by Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariqs to Beijing, SCMP reports.
The deals mark a transition from traditional trade to joint investment, technology transfer and long-term capital partnerships, with most projects planned on Omani soil.
What did the countries agree to:
The establishment of a joint fund of 800 million dollars with the Silk Road Fund of China, most of which will be invested in Oman, plus a fund of 300 million dollars with the Merchant Bank of China and another 735 million dollars of investments in clean energy, digital technologies, smart manufacturing and services.
Set up a $4.4 billion interbank currency swap.
Signed a $418.7 million ten-year mining services contract for Mazvon's copper and gold project.
Construction of a battery energy storage of approximately one billion dollars and a capacity of 1 gigawatt, plus a wind energy partnership covering an R&D center and a turbine test site in Dokum.
Integrate Huawei neural processors into Oman's national cloud infrastructure to support large-scale AI model training, real-time inference and local data processing.
Chinese companies treat Oman as a stable entry point to the Middle East at a time when neighboring countries are at risk of conflict. For Oman, meanwhile, Chinese capital and technology are serving its Vision 2040 diversification goals, anchoring a push to expand domestic production beyond oil and gas.
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