China will this week launch its highest-level diplomatic visit to the Gulf for more than two years, seeking to bolster its growing energy ties to the region amid jitters over possible western sanctions on Iranian oil and Tehran’s counter-threat to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Premier Wen Jiabao’s six-day trip will take him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, while China’s state-owned Sinopec is poised to sign a joint venture deal to develop a refinery on the Saudi Red Sea coast.
Tension between Iran and its Arab oil-producing neighbours has highlighted the delicate path Beijing needs to tread to preserve both as big oil suppliers, while unrest across the Middle East has triggered wider concerns in China about its dependence on the region’s oil.