At the energy node where Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision" and "Made in China 2025" intersect, an industry news has attracted global attention. On January 8, 2026, China's leading electrical equipment company Siyuan Electric and Saudi energy giant Al Sharhan Group officially signed a contract in Riyadh, announcing that they will jointly build a high-voltage GIS equipment manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia. This is not only a commercial cooperation, but also an important breakthrough in localizing the production of China's high-end power equipment technology standards in the Middle East for the first time, marking a profound transformation of China from a product exporting country to a technology system and industrial capacity exporting country.

Strategic fit of bidirectional demand

This cooperation is a precise match between Saudi Arabia's economic diversification strategy and China's demand for high-quality overseas manufacturing. On the Saudi side, as the core content of the "2030 Vision", developing the country's high-end manufacturing industry and breaking away from its single dependence on oil exports has become a national strategy. Electricity, as the lifeblood of industrial development, has significant strategic importance for Saudi Arabia to achieve independent production capacity of key power equipment. As a local energy giant in Saudi Arabia, Al Sharhan Group has a strong market foundation and distribution network, but urgently needs advanced product technology and large-scale manufacturing capabilities to meet the huge market demand brought by the upgrading of the country's power grid and the development of new energy.

In terms of Siyuan Electric, this cooperation is an important milestone in the company's internationalization strategy. Since entering the Saudi market, the company has passed the strict supplier certification system of Saudi Electricity Company, participated in the construction of the iconic Future New City Neom project, and successfully completed the SEC emergency equipment supply task in March this year. These three-step strategies have laid a solid foundation of trust for this in-depth cooperation. Through this joint venture, Siyuan Electric has upgraded its role from equipment supplier to technology partner, creating a new cooperation model of "Chinese intelligent manufacturing+Middle Eastern capital+local operation".

Comprehensive upgrade of technical output

According to the agreement, Siyuan Electric and Al Sharhan Group will build a professional high-voltage GIS equipment manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia. GIS, as a key equipment in substations, has high technical barriers and complex manufacturing processes. Previously, Gulf countries mainly relied on imports from Europe, America, and Japan. The establishment of this joint venture factory means that China's technological capabilities and manufacturing standards in the field of high-end power equipment have been fully implemented in the Middle East for the first time.

The factory will adopt Siyuan Electric's mature manufacturing technology and management system, while making adaptive adjustments based on Saudi Arabia's local resource endowment and market characteristics. The production equipment and technical personnel will mainly come from China to ensure the integrity of technology transfer and consistency of product quality. At the same time, the factory will gradually cultivate local technical talents and industrial workers in Saudi Arabia, achieving the localization and inheritance of technology. This mode not only outputs products, but also a complete set of industrial systems and technical standards, which explores a feasible path for China's high-end manufacturing overseas localized production.

Both parties of the joint venture have developed a detailed roadmap for product planning. In the initial stage, we will mainly produce GIS equipment with voltage levels of 132kV and above to meet the upgrading needs of Saudi Arabia's power grid. Later, based on market demand and technological accumulation, we will gradually expand to higher voltage levels and more intelligent power equipment products. The factory capacity planning fully considers Saudi Arabia's domestic demand and the surrounding Middle East market, and is expected to become an important base for regional power equipment supply.

The beginning of reshaping the industrial landscape

This cooperation has a profound impact on both China and Saudi Arabia, as well as the global power equipment industry landscape. For Saudi Arabia, this is not only acquiring an advanced manufacturing capability, but also an important step in building the foundation of its high-end manufacturing industry. Through localized production, Saudi Arabia will reduce its dependence on imported power equipment, enhance the autonomy and controllability of energy infrastructure, and provide solid industrial support for economic diversification. At the same time, the factory will create a large number of high-tech job opportunities and cultivate local technical talents, which is of great significance for Saudi Arabia to achieve the upgrading of its human resources structure.

For China's manufacturing industry, this cooperation marks a fundamental shift in the mode of going global. From simple product trade and engineering contracting in the past, upgrading to technology standard output and overall industrial chain transfer has truly achieved a leap from "selling equipment" to "building ecology". Siyuan Electric has explored a sustainable international cooperation path in the high-end manufacturing field through technology investment, management output, and standard guidance. This model can not only avoid trade barriers, but also deeply integrate into local economic development, achieving mutually beneficial and win-win long-term cooperation. Keywords: Middle East Latest News, Middle East News Latest News

Against the backdrop of global energy transition and changes in the geopolitical economic landscape, this cooperation may become a paradigm for future industrial cooperation. The mature manufacturing system in China, combined with the abundant capital resources and broad market demand in the Middle East, is giving rise to new industrial cooperation models. When the traditional energy power structure is facing adjustment, new energy infrastructure represented by electricity is becoming a new focus of international industrial cooperation. The handshake between Siyuan Electric and Al Sharhan may only be the beginning of the power transfer in the global energy equipment industry, but the new mode of industrial cooperation and new path of technological output it represents will undoubtedly provide important references for future international cooperation. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website Middle East column editor/Gao Xue