* Chinese companies are setting their sights on the Middle East and emerging as key players in the region's quest for diversified growth.

* Analysts say that the rapid expansion of Chinese companies in the Middle East and the region's growing receptiveness toward them are reinforcing each other in a mutually beneficial cycle.

RIYADH, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- For Sazzad Abdul Hannan, a chauffeur in the Saudi capital, the deepening economic ties between China and Saudi Arabia are no longer distant headlines -- they play out every day from the driver's seat.

"In the past, most of my clients were locals or Europeans," he said. "But now, Chinese business people visiting Saudi Arabia for investment have become one of my main customer groups."

As the kingdom opens the ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference (FII9) on Monday, a flagship gathering on the Middle East's investment calendar, nearly the entire fleet of Hannan's company has been booked by Chinese firms attending the forum.

His experience mirrors a sweeping regional trend: Chinese companies are setting their sights on the Middle East and emerging as key players in the region's quest for diversified growth, a drive highlighted in the FII9's theme -- The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth.

EXPANDING FOOTPRINT

Earlier this month, at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, a sleek flying car rose nimbly into the sky.

Under the gaze of Emirati royals and business leaders gathered below, the craft, developed by Chinese company XPENG AEROHT, hovered for a moment and then descended smoothly. The futuristic demonstration marked a symbolic milestone: the entry of China's low-altitude aviation technology into the Middle East.

In recent years, Chinese companies have steadily expanded their presence across the region, moving beyond traditional partnerships in energy to high-tech industries such as solar power, smart logistics, new-energy vehicles, and cloud computing. Their investment footprint now stretches from the Gulf to the Mediterranean.

Along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, Chinese firms are deeply involved in key projects for NEOM, the kingdom's ambitious "city of the future," contributing to railway systems, data centers, and wind-power networks that support the goals of the country's Vision 2030.

In the northern Egyptian desert, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone has attracted more than 180 enterprises. By forming industrial clusters in building materials, petroleum equipment, machinery manufacturing, home appliances, and textiles, it has become one of Egypt's most productive industrial areas, providing jobs for nearly 10,000 local workers.

In the United Arab Emirates, more than 6,000 Chinese companies are active in such sectors as artificial intelligence, digital services, and cloud computing, helping power the country's digital transformation.

"Middle Eastern countries are pushing for industrial diversification and the growth of local manufacturing, which has created vast opportunities for Chinese enterprises to expand abroad," said Cao Hui, executive director of Egypt-TEDA SEZone Development Company. "We're very confident about the region's prospects."

Echoing Cao's view, a survey conducted by PwC between April and May found that Chinese companies' confidence in the Middle Eastern market continued to rise, with nearly 90 percent of the enterprises surveyed planning to enter or further deepen their presence in the region.

MUTUALLY REINFORCING PARTNERSHIP

Analysts say that the rapid expansion of Chinese companies in the Middle East and the region's growing receptiveness toward them are reinforcing each other in a mutually beneficial cycle.

"By creating tangible economic and social value locally, Chinese companies have earned the trust of host countries, and that trust provides a crucial foundation for their further growth," Li Weibin, executive president of the Jereh Group, which operates across multiple Middle Eastern countries, told Xinhua.

Today, Chinese enterprises and Middle Eastern economies are becoming increasingly interdependent.

"Chinese companies have become a key component of local development, accelerating the implementation of major projects and providing flexible financial and technological solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce costs," said Khaled Walid, a researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Qatar.

Experts note that the region's openness to Chinese firms is driven not only by their technological and cost advantages, but also by their proactive adaptation to and respect for local economic and social contexts.

"Chinese companies respect local sovereignty and cultural norms, enabling Middle Eastern partners to pursue their own political and economic paths while receiving world-class investment," said Diaa Helmy, secretary-general of the Egyptian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

"This approach is highly valued and fosters stable, long-term partnerships focused purely on shared prosperity and development, without ideological preconditions," Helmy added.

On a broader scale, the success of Chinese enterprises in the Middle East reflects the deepening ties and closer cooperation between China and the region.

For example, under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has signed cooperation documents with all 22 Arab nations and the League of Arab States, offering both a strategic framework and institutional safeguards for Chinese companies to grow in Middle Eastern markets.

"China's national strategies, including the BRI, provide the key institutional and financial frameworks that enable Chinese firms to grow in regional markets," said Adli Kandah, a Jordanian economic expert.

In practice, he added, the initiative has become "a comprehensive economic platform providing financing, insurance, logistical support, and long-term contract guarantees for all parties."

"With the BRI increasingly aligned with the development strategies of Middle Eastern countries, we can see that these closer bilateral ties are creating a more favorable macroeconomic environment for our operations," said Yang Zhiyuan, general manager of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (Middle East).

PROMISING FUTURE

As China moves to formulate its 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development, outlining the country's development goals and strategies for 2026-2030, Middle Eastern countries see new horizons opening for cooperation with China.

"Under its 15th five-year plan, China is focusing more on high-quality, innovation-driven, and sustainable growth," said Hebah Abbas, a member of the Industrial Board of Advisors at the College of Engineering at the Australian University-Kuwait.

"For the Middle East, this creates a horizon of opportunity ... The alignment between China's long-term vision and the Middle East's reform agendas offers fertile ground for strategic collaboration, investment partnerships, and knowledge exchange," she noted.

In Helmy's eyes, the relationship between China and the Middle East "is evolving into a multifaceted strategic partnership characterized by profound economic diversification and alignment of national development visions."

"Such a relationship means that prospects for economic cooperation are exceptionally promising and strategically vital for both sides," he added.

For Chinese companies, as the region shifts toward more sustainable development models with a growing demand for advanced technologies, the Middle East is becoming an increasingly promising frontier for economic cooperation.

"The Middle East has always been a strategic priority for our growth," said Chen Debin, managing director in Saudi Arabia of China Railway 18th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. "We believe there is even greater potential for cooperation between China and the Middle East, and we are willing to play a larger role in supporting the region's quest for a better future."

(Video reporters: Deng Yushan, Zhao Wencai, Yang Yiran, Yu Fuqing, Wang Haizhou, Luo Chen, Wen Xinnian, Zhao Danliang, Yao Bing, Wang Zhuolun, Chen Junqing; video editors: Li Ziwei, Luo Hui, Wu Yao)■