Chinese economic growth affected by Gulf energy imports

Kuwait China Investment Company suggested that the growth of the Chinese economy is affected by the growth of its energy imports from Arab Gulf states. The global economy witnessed a continued slump during most of 2012, including that of China, which was considered the engine for the global recovery for both 2009 and 2010, the company's financial advisor Kamil Aqqad said in a statement. Economic slowdowns hamper global growth in the demand of goods, especially industrial minerals and energy resources, leading to a drop in their prices and less revenues for oil-exporting countries, he added. In spite of this, China has witnessed in recent months signs of recovery, with its major sectors - like retail sales, industrial production and investment indices - all on a high. With this, Arab Gulf oil exports to China also rose, from their lowest point of 4.9 billion in August this year to 7.1 billion in October, constituting an almost double 45.6pct rise of Chinese imports from Gulf states - almost seldomly of oil - during a single quarter. Around 40pct of the world's oil is produced by the 12 OPEC member nations. Four of them - the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar -produce around half of that, equal to 20pct of the global oil supply.