Amman, Aug. 16 (Petra) -- A report by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) has highlighted opportunities to deepen economic ties between Jordan and China, particularly by diversifying Chinese investment, expanding Jordanian exports, and promoting technology transfer ahead of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s expected visit to China.
The report, titled "Jordanian-Chinese Economic Prospects: Between Trade and Foreign Direct Investment," examines China’s growing economic role in the Middle East, bilateral trade and investment, and Jordan’s priorities in attracting productive investment and strengthening its position as a trusted regional production hub.
The forum said technological shifts and competition among major powers are reshaping the global economy, turning trade, investment, and supply chains into key components of economic security. China has emerged as a major industrial, investment, and technological power, while advanced economies are placing greater emphasis on supply-chain resilience, export controls, and economic security.
According to the report, Chinese exports to Arab economies reached $293.5 billion in 2025, while imports stood at $201 billion, bringing total trade to about $495 billion.
China’s economic engagement with the region, once focused largely on meeting its energy needs, has expanded into trade, investment, infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, and technology, supported by the momentum of the Belt and Road Initiative, the report said.
Globally, Chinese foreign direct investment rose from $45.8 billion in 2010 to a peak of $215 billion in 2017, before declining significantly between 2018 and 2023 and recovering to $88.2 billion in 2025. The trend suggests Chinese overseas investment remains significant but has become more selective, the forum said.
The structure of Chinese overseas investment has also shifted from a focus on infrastructure and energy toward renewable energy, electric vehicles and batteries, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.
The forum said new Chinese legislation governing overseas investment, which entered into force on July 1, 2026, places greater emphasis on compliance, governance, sustainability, and supply-chain security. This could create opportunities for Jordan to attract productive investment that increases local value added, transfers technology, and expands exports.
On bilateral trade, the report said the relationship remains heavily weighted toward trade rather than investment, production, and technological cooperation. In 2025, Chinese exports to Jordan stood at about $6.29 billion, compared with Jordanian exports to China of $430 million, resulting in a bilateral trade deficit of about $5.86 billion for Jordan.
Jordanian exports to China remain concentrated in a relatively limited range of products, including phosphate, potash, fertilizers, chemicals, and copper.
Cumulative Chinese direct investment in Jordan reached about $3.56 billion between 2010 and 2025, according to the report. The figure was lower than Chinese investment in Iraq at $12.19 billion, the UAE at $9.72 billion, Egypt at $8.29 billion, Saudi Arabia at $7.02 billion, and Morocco at $3.93 billion.
China implemented 71 investment projects in Jordan during the period, compared with 1,227 in the UAE, 540 in Saudi Arabia, 375 in Egypt, and 177 in Morocco. Iraq attracted 30 Chinese projects despite receiving significantly higher investment volumes.
Chinese investment in Jordan is also heavily concentrated in energy. Of the $3.56 billion invested during 2010-2025, about $3.17 billion, or nearly 89%, went to the energy sector. Other investments included about $360 million in consumer products, $19.7 million in vehicles, $6.4 million in financial and business services, and only $4.27 million in information and communications technology.
The forum said Jordan’s challenge is therefore not simply to attract more Chinese investment but to diversify it toward activities that build productive capacity, transfer technology and expertise, develop local suppliers, create skilled jobs, and support more sophisticated exports.
It identified five priorities for maximizing the outcome of the anticipated royal visit.
First, Jordan should position itself among Chinese investors as a stable, internationally connected base for export-oriented production, leveraging its strategic location, skilled workforce, industrial zones, and preferential access to major markets.
Second, Chinese investment should be diversified toward sectors aligned with Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision, including advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, pharmaceuticals, logistics, ICT and digital services, food industries, and tourism.
Third, cooperation should extend beyond capital investment to technology transfer and capacity building, particularly in renewable energy, electric vehicles and batteries, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing. The forum also called for partnerships in research and development, innovation centers, vocational and technical training, higher education, and commercialization of entrepreneurial ideas.
Fourth, Jordan should expand and diversify its exports to China. The report estimated untapped Jordanian export opportunities in the Chinese market at about $400 million and called for practical progress in market access through streamlined standards and certification procedures; improved logistics; e-commerce and trade promotion; as well as stronger direct business links.
Fifth, government agreements should be translated into projects on the ground by matching Chinese investors with sector-specific opportunities in Jordan, strengthening links between chambers of commerce and industry and business organizations in both countries, and establishing effective channels between Chinese and Jordanian companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
The forum also proposed establishing a permanent Jordan-China economic cooperation and implementation mechanism involving relevant government institutions, investment authorities, business organizations, and the private sector.
Such a mechanism, it said, would follow up on agreed projects, address implementation obstacles, and identify new areas of cooperation, helping translate high-level commitments into commercially viable investments.
The forum said the anticipated royal visit represents an opportunity to advance this transformation and turn the strategic partnership into tangible results through more diversified investment, expanded exports, technology transfer, quality job creation, and stronger local capabilities.
//Petra// AF
