China, Arab countries target energy sector in ambitious trade plan

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BEIJING - China and the Arab world will target the energy sector as they seek to double their trade volumes over the next few years, the two sides said as they wrapped up a ministerial forum here on Thursday.

An agreement signed on the final day of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum said that Beijing and the 22 Arab League members would hold their first meeting on oil issues over the next three years, according to Xinhua news agency.

“The two sides attach importance to energy cooperation, particularly the cooperation in the sectors of oil, natural gas and renewable energy,” said a document outlining the forum’s plans for 2006 to 2008, Xinhua reported. snip

Fifty-eight percent of China’s oil imports currently come from the Middle East, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.