In the first nine months 2020, China's crude oil imports increased by 13 percent, attributed to a relatively controllable epidemic situation domestically and refineries increased production to keep up with the rapid recovery in demand.

Besides oil, China and Saudi Arabia also cooperate in renewable energy. In May, China's Silk Road Fund has completed the purchase of a 49-percent stake in the renewable energy platform of Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding Ltd, which holds 1,668 MW of concentrated solar power, solar photovoltaic, and wind assets in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco.

This is the third cooperation between ACWA Power and the Silk Road Fund. Before this, the two parties jointly participated in the investment in two projects in the UAE, including the Hassyan power plant complex that uses clean coal technology to generate electricity, and the solar power project in the fourth phase of the complex.