As US ties fray, top Oman official visits China: What to know
Muscat looks eastward
For decades, the relationship between Beijing and Muscat has been “primarily driven by trade,” Jalal Al-Shukaili, a foreign policy scholar based in Muscat, told Al-Monitor.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, bilateral trade reached $36.7 billion in 2024. China is Oman’s largest trading partner, while Oman is China’s fourth-largest trading partner among Arab states.
By comparison, Oman-US trade totaled just $4.3 billion in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative.
Shukaili argued that political ties have remained steady but secondary. Unlike many Gulf counterparts, “There have been no state visits between the leaders of the two countries, and military cooperation remains limited,” Shukaili said.
Still, diplomatic engagement has continued. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Oman in 2021, Busaidi traveled to China in 2022 and Chinese President Xi Jinping met late Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said during the China-GCC Summit in Riyadh later that year.
Oman is also China’s fifth-largest supplier of crude oil. In 2024, China imported more than 40.7 million tons of Omani crude, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
Like other Gulf states, Oman hopes to diversify beyond oil through Vision 2040 by expanding logistics, tourism, technology and investment. China is an important partner in achieving those goals.
Last July, Future Fund Oman and Hong Kong-based Templewater launched Oman’s first energy transition fund, investing $200 million in clean energy and low-carbon technologies.
China, meanwhile, sees Oman as a strategic Belt and Road partner for expanding trade routes and securing maritime access.
