Oman is an active responder to China's Belt and Road Initiative and one of the first countries to join the AIIB as a founding member. In May 2018, the Omani government made it clear that it welcomes and supports the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to actively participate in the construction of the project. With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative, the major practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind has become integrated with Oman's Vision 2040.
△ Abu Ubaid, a famous Omani navigator, sailed to Guangzhou, China more than 1,200 years ago, and in 1980, the Omani antique wooden ship "Sohar" re-walked Obaid's "Frankincense Road at Sea". (The picture shows the monument to the "Sohar" in Guangzhou)
△ The fleet of the Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He visited Oman four times. (Pictured is the Zheng He Monument in Oman)
Since the launch of Vision 2040, Oman has been encouraging cross-border cooperation and project development in green energy, and green development is a key background for the Belt and Road Initiative. In January 2022, Oman's largest renewable energy project, the Ibri PV Project, was completed by a Chinese company, which not only promotes the diversification of the local energy mix, but also alleviates the peak power shortage in Muscat and the northern region of Oman. In November 2023, another Chinese company contracted the Manah II photovoltaic power project in Oman, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 340,000 tons per year.
△ Oman's Ibri PV project, located in the city of Ibri in Zahir province in the north of the country, is the largest PV project in Oman's "National Energy Plan".
In addition, China and Oman have also cooperated in digital infrastructure to help promote their digital transformation. In March 2022, a Chinese telecommunications company announced the start of production of the Omani MC1 network service access point, which will significantly improve Oman's network connectivity in the Middle East and provide enterprises with an advanced digital environment.
In the field of tourism industry, which Oman has high hopes for, with the implementation of a 14-day visa-free entry policy for Chinese citizens in Oman in 2020, the number of relevant travel strategies on Chinese social platforms has gradually increased, and related tourism products have become more abundant. In the first eight months of 2023, a total of 91,000 Chinese tourists visited Oman.
△ Deirbat, a tourist resort in Oman, is called the "Jiuzhaigou" of Oman by netizens.
Oman's abundant oil and gas resources provide a foundation for its development, and in the context of economic diversification, Oman is now expanding into more areas, developing renewable energy and other emerging industries, and trying to find new economic growth opportunities. This will become a key issue for Oman to "invest in the future" and provide more new opportunities for in-depth cooperation between China and Oman in various fields.