General

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Qatar's Ambassador to China, Mohamed Abdullah Duhimi, said in an interview recently that in recent years, Qatar's relations with China have made significant progress, and the strategic mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously strengthened. Taking advantage of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with China in trade, investment, sports, and other fields to enhance the level of cooperation.

Given the drastic changes in the current international situation, why does Qatar choose to strengthen cooperation with China? What impact will the in-depth exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have?

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, on November 20th, the 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar kicked off. On the first day of the tournament, China and Qatar signed a historic energy order, and Chinese enterprises and "Made in China" appeared on and off the field, demonstrating the fruitful results of cooperation between China and Qatar.

Experts pointed out that Qatar pursues "small country diplomacy" and actively seeks a "balance point" in diplomatic cooperation with foreign powers. The concept of "promoting security through development" proposed by China is highly favored by Qatar. The practical cooperation between the two countries will have a radiation effect in the GCC countries and even the entire Middle East region.

China and Qatar sign the longest energy order in history

The 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar is in full swing, which has brought great attention to this small Middle East country. Remarkably, Chinese elements can be seen everywhere in the stadium: Lusail Stadium, the home stadium of the World Cup, was built by China Railway Construction International Group, which is the largest stadium in Qatar, and also the largest and largest professional stadium built overseas by Chinese enterprises to accommodate the largest number of people; Chinese enterprises are the largest sponsors of this World Cup, with a total sponsorship amount of 1.395 billion US dollars; Of the commodities around the World Cup, 70% come from "Made in Yiwu".

Chinese elements have all made their debut on the field, and the energy cooperation between China and Qatar outside the field has also attracted attention from all parties.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, on November 21st, Sinopec and Qatar Energy signed a 27-year long-term purchase and sales agreement for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company said this was the "longest" LNG purchase and sale agreement in history. According to this agreement, Qatar Energy Company will supply 4 million tons of LNG to Sinopec every year. This agreement is an important part of the integrated cooperation between the two parties on the Qatar North Gas Field Expansion Project, and is of milestone significance.

Qatar is located on the southwest coast of the Persian Gulf, covering an area of 11521 square kilometers, equivalent to 1.5 Guangzhou cities, with a population of less than 3 million. The oil and gas industry is the economic pillar of this small Middle East country. According to the Gulf Times, Qatar's oil and gas revenue accounts for over 80% of the total government revenue, equivalent to about 24% of the country's GDP.

The Global Times quoted foreign media reports as saying that the signing of the LNG agreement has made Qatar's rich natural gas resources a major buyer, and has also enabled China to have a stable and safe supply of clean energy, which can be described as a win-win situation. It also has a significant promoting role and significance for bilateral relations.

China and Qatar have long established a track record of strengthening cooperation. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Qatar joined the "the Belt and Road" initiative in 2014. In recent years, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Qatar has maintained a rapid development momentum, and China has become Qatar's largest trading partner since 2020. According to data, in 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Qatar reached 17.17 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 57%; In the first half of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Qatar reached 12.83 billion US dollars, up 71% year-on-year.

Why does Qatar favor China? Niu Song, a researcher at the Middle East Research Institute of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, believes that as the world's second largest economy, China is not only full of vitality in the economic and trade field, but also attaches importance to people-to-people communication with Middle East countries, which makes Qatar willing to strengthen cooperation with China in such fields as economy, trade, culture, education, and so on.

Sun Degang, director and researcher of the Middle East Research Center at Fudan University, said that Chinese enterprises have seized the opportunity of this World Cup, and the energy cooperation between China and Qatar has been deepening. The two countries have promoted practical cooperative relations in various fields, which is a model of "South South cooperation" and will have a radiation effect in the GCC countries and the entire Middle East region.

Pursuing "Small Country Big Diplomacy" and Seeking a Balance Point

Qatar's rich oil and gas resources have consistently ranked among the world's top per capita GDP. On this basis, the country also attaches importance to economic diversification. In 2008, Qatar launched the "2030 National Vision" plan, proposing to build itself into a country with sustainable development, strong international competitiveness, and high national living standards by 2030.

Niu Song expressed that Qatar hopes to utilize the huge wealth brought by oil and gas resources to promote the modernization of the country and assist in the leapfrog economic development towards the "post oil era". "Qatar is very aware of its reality as a small country, so it pays attention to increasing diplomatic efforts in various fields such as energy, media, science and technology, education, sports, etc., to make up for its inherent disadvantage in global politics," said Niu Song.

Niu Song further explained that in global diplomacy, Qatar pursues the basic logic of "small countries and big diplomacy", and actively seeks a balance when interacting with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries outside the region that are also Gulf countries. For example, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Qatar avoided antagonism with Russia, while maintaining close interaction with the United States in the security field, and avoiding "standing in line" to the greatest extent.

It is worth mentioning that, both inside and outside this World Cup, there are frequent "disharmonies" from the West. Recently, some Western media have challenged Qatar on topics such as human rights. At the opening ceremony of the World Cup on November 20th, Western leaders were collectively absent, and media such as the BBC refused to broadcast the opening ceremony.

Sun Degang analyzed that Western countries often view Gulf countries such as Qatar with "colored glasses", frequently using human rights, political reform, and other reasons to "dictate" them, forcing them to act in accordance with the requirements of Western countries.

"Compared to the 'coercive' diplomacy of the West, China has solidly promoted multi field cooperation with Qatar and other Middle East countries without attaching political conditions. For Qatar, China's concept and practice of 'promoting security through development' have strong influence. China's practical cooperation with Qatar and other Middle East countries has achieved remarkable results," said Niu Song.

Create the "most expensive" World Cup in history and enhance its influence

According to foreign media reports, Qatar has invested over 300 billion US dollars since winning the World Cup bid in 2010. In contrast, according to World Bank statistics, Qatar's gross national product in 2021 was approximately $179.51 billion. Qatar has done its utmost to host this World Cup.

Qatar is the smallest country in history to host the World Cup, and the World Cup hosted by that country is considered the "most expensive" in history. Why did Qatar "lavish thousands of gold" on this sporting event? The analysis pointed out that Qatar not only hopes to obtain rich economic benefits through the World Cup, but also pays attention to the influence and appeal carried by the World Cup.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, the Emir of Qatar (Head of State) Tamim recently stated that the hosting of this World Cup and the rise in energy prices such as oil and natural gas will promote Qatar's economic development. Qatar's GDP is expected to increase by 4.9% in 2022.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at the Middle East Research Institute at Northwestern University and a researcher at the Syrian Research Center, believes that as a large-scale international sports event with strong viewing and high visibility, the World Cup can bring hope and momentum to global audiences against the backdrop of the continuing epidemic, thereby helping the host country Qatar to promote its own image.

"Qatar is committed to building itself into a business and financial channel that connects the East and the West and connects Europe, Asia, and Africa. Therefore, hosting the World Cup at any cost is also a demonstration of its economic strength, which is conducive to improving its national image," Wang Jin said.

In addition to hosting this World Cup, Qatar obtained the qualification to host the 2023 Asian Cup football match in October this year. According to foreign media reports, Qatar also expressed its intention to bid for the 2032 Olympic Games in July. Actively hosting a number of major international sports events shows Qatar's ambition to become a "sports power".

Niu Song believes that, on the basis of achieving the integration of traditional culture and modern civilization, Qatar hopes to enhance its "visibility" and influence around the world by hosting large-scale international events, and is committed to becoming a force that cannot be ignored in the international community.