KSA has returned the favor of China which hosted the "Roads of Arabia" exhibition at the National Museum in Beijing.
Terracotta warriors star of ‘Treasures of China’ show in Riyadh
The Saudi national antiquities sector is not new and we are building on what officials and citizens have built before us, said the tourism chief. (SPA)
RASHID HASSAN
September 14, 2018
- A rare display of famous artifacts has opened at the National Museum in Riyadh
- The exhibition include 264 items provided by 13 museums and cultural institutions in China
RIYADH: The “Treasures of China” exhibition, featuring collections of the most famous artifacts in Chinese civilization, including the terracotta warriors, has opened at the National Museum in Riyadh.
The display, from Sept.13 to Nov. 23, is part of a rare and priceless collection of historical Chinese artifacts marking the largest cultural relics exhibition hosted by China in the Kingdom.
It includes 264 items provided by 13 museums and cultural institutions such as the Palace Museum, of which 173 are Chinese cultural relics. They include the terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.
The exhibition is organized under the patronage of Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), and as part of an agreement signed between the Kingdom, represented by the SCTH, and the People’s Republic of China, represented by the State Administration of the Cultural Heritage (SACH), which includes cooperation in archaeological research, exhibitions and museum activities.
Opening the exhibition on Wednesday night, Prince Sultan said: “The exhibition is an important step in the special relations between the two friendly countries.
“Due to its experience and extended relations with the best international universities and research centers, the Kingdom became one of the leading countries in the fields of archaeological discoveries, scientific research and the development of human resources working in the fields of heritage and archaeology.
“King Salman has supported the archaeology sector ever since its creation. The sector itself was productive and had many scientific, research and museum accomplishments when the authority took over it. The SCTH built on the great achievements and developed them in the fields on archaeological discoveries, and through the efforts to protect and return national antiquities as well as the establishment of a new and sophisticated museums system,” he added.
“The ‘Treasure of China’ exhibition represents the convergence of two great civilizations and economic powers. China is a pivotal country and so is Saudi Arabia, so there are many areas of cooperation in the fields of human and cultural heritage as well as in the tourism sector.”
The opening ceremony was attended by Li Huaxin, the Chinese ambassador in Riyadh, the Saudi ambassador to China, Turki Al-Madhi, and a number of senior officials from both countries.
The exhibition of Chinese cultural relics is a rare opportunity for Riyadh residents and visitors to see a collection of the rarest artifacts that embody the ancient civilizations of China.
Hosted by the SCTH in cooperation with the SACH, the exhibition also displays objects from Chinese-Saudi joint archaeological excavations at the ruins of Al-Sereen site.
The joint work has provided valuable resources for the archaeological research involved with the Maritime Silk Road and revealed close connections between China and the Red Sea area in ancient times.
The exhibits showcasing objects from joint Chinese-Saudi archaeological excavations include a large number of items on display overseas for the first time, the Chinese envoy said.
The exhibition has selected the collection of relics from archaeological excavations and historical monuments collected from Chinese museums. It consists of five sections in chronological order: “The Beginning of Civilization, Establishments of Etiquette,” “Unification, Consolidation and Development,” “Prosperity and Diversified Communication,” “Start-up of Business and Marine Trade,” and “Palace and Royal Art.”
The exhibits vary from pottery, bronze, jade, porcelain, gold, silver, enamel and other Chinese cultural treasures. The exhibition aims to introduce the growth of Chinese civilization and show the social life, culture and arts of Chinese civilizations over thousands of years.
On the sideline of the exhibition, the National Museum is displaying archetypes of the Chinese archaeological artifacts recovered during the excavations at sites in Saudi Arabia, which represent the commercial exchange between China and the Arabic peninsula civilizations.
An area at the exhibition introduces the excavation work being implemented by the joint Saudi-Chinese team at the Al-Sereen site in Qunfudha governorate.
The National Museum in Beijing hosted “Roads of Arabia Expo,” the popular exhibition of Saudi archaeological masterpieces, in 2016, which was the first stop in its Asian tour after its hugely successful international tours hosted by four European cities and five cities in the US.
The SCTH has signed multiple agreements with other countries to organize similar exhibitions at the National Museum as part of its visiting exhibitions program.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1371771/saudi-arabia
Sept 12, 2018 01:43 PM
BUSINESS & TECH
Saudi Arabia’s SABIC Joins Race to Supply China With Plastic
By
Ke Dawei
A petroleum chemical plant is seen in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in September 2017. Photo: VCG
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has become the third international petrochemicals giant to announce plans to build a major complex in southern China in the last two months as the industry prepares for a boom in China’s demand for plastic.
SABIC has signed an agreement with the Fujian government to build a petrochemical complex in the southeastern Chinese province, according to an
announcement on the company’s website. A location and time frame are not yet known.
The move “is part of SABIC’s strategy to diversify its operations, seek new strategic investment opportunities and strengthen its position in the Chinese market,” the announcement said.
SABIC’s plant comes amid an unprecedented boom in China’s petrochemicals sector, with at least 13 major projects planned or under construction, bringing around 1.37 million metric tons (1.51 million U.S. tons) of new capacity across the country, according to Reuters. While much of the new capacity is coming from
domestic companies such as Sinopec Corp. and Hengli Petrochemical Co. Ltd., major international players are entering the competition.
Last week, ExxonMobil Corp.
announced it is in advanced talks with the Guangdong government to build a “multibillion-dollar” petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the province. BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemicals company by sales, had signed a memorandum of understanding
to build a $10 billion complex in the province just two months before.
At the heart of the expansion is ethylene, a versatile chemical that is a key ingredient in producing polyethylene, the most common plastic in the world. China is already a major market for the chemical, but demand is expected to skyrocket over the next decade, catalyzed by the government’s efforts to move the country’s economy up the production chain and into higher-value-added commodity production, according to information service ICIS. China will account for a third of global demand in petrochemicals over the next decade, IHS Markit reckons.
The U.S. boom in shale gas, which can be converted into ethylene, has largely met recent rising demand, but this period is coming to an end, said Steve Jenkins, vice president of consulting at Wood Mackenzie Chemicals.
“There’s been a lack of investment in ethylene facilities in Asia over the last four years because so much building has been going on in the U.S. in tandem with the shale boom, but there is now uncertainty over how much the U.S. can supply from a second wave of investment and real doubts that it can serve as the main source of ethylene derivatives supply for China,” he said.
This has led to a surge in companies looking to build “crackers,” which produce olefins, and other chemical facilities across Asia, Jenkins said. This is particularly true in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta area, where BASF SE and ExxonMobil intend to build their plants. The province already benefits from extensive transportation infrastructure and a strong consumer goods manufacturing industry, a legacy of its status as the first area to begin experimenting with foreign investment through the
reform and opening-up policies from the late 1970s that catapulted China’s economic transformation. SABIC is also positioning itself in a powerhouse that catapulted ahead thanks to its proximity to Taiwan.
“Building plants in Guangdong puts chemical producers in the same location as their customers, and in turn it also encourages more manufacturers to develop in the area, supporting the government’s efforts to push into higher-end, value-added production,” Jenkins said. While Chinese production costs have risen, an industry report from McKinsey & Co. said that they are nevertheless 10% to 50% cheaper than they are in Western countries.
Also of note in the surge in petrochemicals investment is the prominent role of the international private sector, rather than the domestic state-owned entities the government has typically relied on. “The state-owned companies have their hands full upgrading their plants to meet higher environmental standards as the government tries to reduce pollution, while they also pivot away from diesel-based heavy transport fuels to the more refined types demanded by China’s modern automobile industry,” Jenkins said.
“This is why China has invited the private sector to lead the development of petrochemicals associated with plastics. Private companies have the technology and capital to make these major investments. For the likes of ExxonMobil, BASF and SABIC, they recognize China is going to be dominating demand for decades to come, and so they are positioning themselves as important government partners early,” he added.
Contact reporter Ke Dawei (daweike@caixin.com)
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-0...e-to-supply-china-with-plastic-101325320.html