Market Briefing-Countries covered by “Belt and Road” Initiative

The State of Qatar

Basic Information

The State of Qatar (commonly known as Qatar) is an Arab country in Western Asia. It is located on the Qatar peninsula on the southwest coast of the Persian Gulf, and shares a border with Saudi Arabia to the south. With a land area of 11,521 square kilometres and a coastline of 563 kilometres, the country has a tropical desert climate. Qatar has a population of more than 2.93 million, of which about 15% are citizens of Qatar. The expatriates mainly come from India, Pakistan and Southeast Asian countries. The official language is Arabic and English is commonly used all over the country. In Qatar, Islam is the predominant religion. Doha, located in the eastern part of Qatar, is not only the capital and largest city, but also the economic, transportation and cultural centre of the country. With the development of petroleum industry, Doha has developed from a fishing village to a modern city with a rapidly growing tourism industry.

Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Qatar’s per capita GDP ranked eighth in the world in 2021. Qatar’s economy is heavily dependent on petroleum and natural gas. The country is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of liquefied natural gas. While promoting the energy industry, Qatar also launched the “2030 National Vision” to diversify its economy and vigorously develop other industries such as tourism and financial services, with the goal of becoming a country with sustainable development, strong international competitiveness and a high standard of living. Qatar has established diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries. Currently, Qatar is a member of various international and regional organisations, such as the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Qatar will host the World Cup in November 2022. It is the first time that the World Cup will be held in the Middle East and the second time in Asia after Japan and South Korea.

Economic and trade co-operation between China and Qatar

China and Qatar formally established diplomatic relations on 9 July, 1988. Since then, the two countries have maintained friendly and co-operative bilateral relations, with frequent high-level exchanges, continuous advancement of practical co-operation in various fields and good communication and co-ordination in international and regional affairs. In 2014, China and Qatar established a strategic partnership and signed an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on jointly building the “Belt and Road”.

In terms of economic and trade co-operation, China has become Qatar’s largest trading partner since 2020. China mainly exports machinery and equipment, electrical and electronic products and metal products to Qatar, while it imports liquefied natural gas, crude oil and polyethylene from Qatar. Regarding the financial sector, the two countries signed a local currency swap agreement in 2014, which was renewed in 2021. In addition, the renminbi (RMB) clearing centre in Doha was officially launched in April 2015.

The people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Qatar have been developed smoothly. The “China and Qatar Cultural Year” was held in Qatar in 2016. Besides, the two countries have launched the first giant panda co-operation in the Middle East. With regard to tourism, Qatar became an outbound tourist destination for Chinese citizens in 2005, while the business of Chinese citizens’ group tourism to Qatar was officially launched in May 2018. In July of the same year, the two countries signed a comprehensive visa waiver agreement.

Business opportunity information of Qatar

Qatar’s mineral resources consist mainly of petroleum and natural gas, with declared reserves of 2.6 billion tons and 17.77 billion tons, respectively, ranking 14^th and third in the world. In terms of industry, Qatar is dominated by the petroleum, natural gas, related industries and energy intensive industries, including petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, fertiliser plants, steelworks and cement plants.

Regarding foreign trade, Qatar’s main export products include petroleum, liquefied gas, gas condensate, synthesis ammonia, urea and ethylene, while its main import products include machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, industrial raw materials and light industrial products and pharmaceuticals. China, Japan, India, United States and Western European countries are the major trading partners of Qatar.

In terms of transportation, the main seaports of the country are Doha Port, Umm Said Port and Ras Laffan Port, of which the latter is the largest liquefied natural gas export port in the world. Regarding the aviation industry, Qatar Airways is the fastest growing airline in the world, flying to more than 130 destinations around the world every day. The airline company has won numerous awards and honours, including being selected as the world’s best airline of the year six times.