His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, particularly at this time, carries significant economic importance. The economic relationship between Jordan and China is no longer simply a trade relationship between two countries. It has reached a critical stage concerning the role this relationship can play in the Jordanian economy. The key question is not how much Jordan imports from China, nor the value of Chinese investments in Jordan, but rather how this relationship can be transformed into a tool for increasing production and exports, transferring technology, and raising domestic value added.
According to the available data, China’s exports to Jordan reached $6.29 billion in 2025, while Jordan’s exports to China amounted to only around $430 million. This resulted in a Chinese trade surplus with Jordan of $5.86 billion. In other words, for every dollar Jordan exports to China, China exports approximately $14.6 to Jordan. This ratio reflects the significant gap in Jordan’s ability to access the Chinese market.
However, looking at the relationship from a trade perspective alone may not be sufficient. China has become a major economic partner for Arab countries. In 2025, China’s exports to Arab economies reached $293.5 billion, compared with approximately $201 billion in Chinese imports from Arab countries, bringing total trade to nearly $495 billion, according to a report by the Jordan Strategy Forum. Therefore, the Arab market has become an important component of China’s trade activity, and the question for Jordan is how it can secure a larger share of this huge market.
Investment provides the second dimension. Chinese foreign direct investment accumulated in Jordan during the period 2010 to 2025 reached approximately $3.56 billion through 71 projects, according to the Jordan Strategy Forum. These investments were distributed across different sectors. The energy sector accounted for approximately $3.17 billion, or around 89 percent of total Chinese investment in Jordan. In comparison, investment in consumer products and services amounted to approximately $360 million, while investment in automobile manufacturing reached $19.71 million, financial and business services $6.4 million, and information and communications technology only $4.27 million.
These figures tell us something important. Jordan has succeeded in attracting Chinese capital, but it has not yet succeeded in diversifying this investment in a way that makes it a broad driver of productive transformation. When around 89 percent of investment is concentrated in one sector, its impact on other sectors and domestic value chains remains relatively limited. The priority in the coming period should not simply be larger Chinese investments, but more diversified investments that are more closely linked to production, exports, and technology.
The comparison presented by the Jordan Strategy Forum with other Arab countries also reveals the scale of the opportunity. Cumulative Chinese investment reached $12.19 billion in Iraq, $9.72 billion in the UAE, $8.29 billion in Egypt, $7.02 billion in Saudi Arabia, and $3.93 billion in Morocco, compared with $3.56 billion in Jordan. The number of Chinese projects implemented during the same period reached 1,227 in the UAE, 540 in Saudi Arabia, 375 in Egypt, and 177 in Morocco, compared with only 71 projects in Jordan.
However, Jordan’s objective should not simply be to compete with these countries in terms of the number of projects or the volume of capital. Jordan’s real advantage could lie in building a production and export base serving multiple markets, benefiting from its geographical location, trade agreements, industrial zones, and skilled workforce. The objective should be to attract Chinese investment to Jordan for production and exports, rather than solely for access to the domestic market.
The real opportunity, therefore, does not lie simply in increasing the volume of trade, but in changing the nature of the relationship. Part of Chinese capital should be directed toward factories, manufacturing industries, technological projects, and logistics. Technology should be transformed into production, production into exports, and exports into employment and value added. The success of the Jordanian-Chinese relationship should ultimately be measured by four key indicators: the value of productive investment, the volume of Jordanian exports, the number of quality jobs created, and the amount of technology and value added retained within the Jordanian economy.
Only then can the relationship move from trade with China to production with China, and from a relationship dominated by a trade deficit to a partnership capable of contributing to rebuilding Jordan’s productive capacity and generating attractive economic returns for both sides.
His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, particularly at this time, carries significant economic importance. The economic relationship between Jordan and China is no longer simply a trade relationship between two countries. It has reached a critical stage concerning the role this relationship can play in the Jordanian economy. The key question is not how much Jordan imports from China, nor the value of Chinese investments in Jordan, but rather how this relationship can be transformed into a tool for increasing production and exports, transferring technology, and raising domestic value added.
According to the available data, China’s exports to Jordan reached $6.29 billion in 2025, while Jordan’s exports to China amounted to only around $430 million. This resulted in a Chinese trade surplus with Jordan of $5.86 billion. In other words, for every dollar Jordan exports to China, China exports approximately $14.6 to Jordan. This ratio reflects the significant gap in Jordan’s ability to access the Chinese market.
However, looking at the relationship from a trade perspective alone may not be sufficient. China has become a major economic partner for Arab countries. In 2025, China’s exports to Arab economies reached $293.5 billion, compared with approximately $201 billion in Chinese imports from Arab countries, bringing total trade to nearly $495 billion, according to a report by the Jordan Strategy Forum. Therefore, the Arab market has become an important component of China’s trade activity, and the question for Jordan is how it can secure a larger share of this huge market.
Investment provides the second dimension. Chinese foreign direct investment accumulated in Jordan during the period 2010 to 2025 reached approximately $3.56 billion through 71 projects, according to the Jordan Strategy Forum. These investments were distributed across different sectors. The energy sector accounted for approximately $3.17 billion, or around 89 percent of total Chinese investment in Jordan. In comparison, investment in consumer products and services amounted to approximately $360 million, while investment in automobile manufacturing reached $19.71 million, financial and business services $6.4 million, and information and communications technology only $4.27 million.
These figures tell us something important. Jordan has succeeded in attracting Chinese capital, but it has not yet succeeded in diversifying this investment in a way that makes it a broad driver of productive transformation. When around 89 percent of investment is concentrated in one sector, its impact on other sectors and domestic value chains remains relatively limited. The priority in the coming period should not simply be larger Chinese investments, but more diversified investments that are more closely linked to production, exports, and technology.
The comparison presented by the Jordan Strategy Forum with other Arab countries also reveals the scale of the opportunity. Cumulative Chinese investment reached $12.19 billion in Iraq, $9.72 billion in the UAE, $8.29 billion in Egypt, $7.02 billion in Saudi Arabia, and $3.93 billion in Morocco, compared with $3.56 billion in Jordan. The number of Chinese projects implemented during the same period reached 1,227 in the UAE, 540 in Saudi Arabia, 375 in Egypt, and 177 in Morocco, compared with only 71 projects in Jordan.
However, Jordan’s objective should not simply be to compete with these countries in terms of the number of projects or the volume of capital. Jordan’s real advantage could lie in building a production and export base serving multiple markets, benefiting from its geographical location, trade agreements, industrial zones, and skilled workforce. The objective should be to attract Chinese investment to Jordan for production and exports, rather than solely for access to the domestic market.
The real opportunity, therefore, does not lie simply in increasing the volume of trade, but in changing the nature of the relationship. Part of Chinese capital should be directed toward factories, manufacturing industries, technological projects, and logistics. Technology should be transformed into production, production into exports, and exports into employment and value added. The success of the Jordanian-Chinese relationship should ultimately be measured by four key indicators: the value of productive investment, the volume of Jordanian exports, the number of quality jobs created, and the amount of technology and value added retained within the Jordanian economy.
Only then can the relationship move from trade with China to production with China, and from a relationship dominated by a trade deficit to a partnership capable of contributing to rebuilding Jordan’s productive capacity and generating attractive economic returns for both sides.
His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, particularly at this time, carries significant economic importance. The economic relationship between Jordan and China is no longer simply a trade relationship between two countries. It has reached a critical stage concerning the role this relationship can play in the Jordanian economy. The key question is not how much Jordan imports from China, nor the value of Chinese investments in Jordan, but rather how this relationship can be transformed into a tool for increasing production and exports, transferring technology, and raising domestic value added.
According to the available data, China’s exports to Jordan reached $6.29 billion in 2025, while Jordan’s exports to China amounted to only around $430 million. This resulted in a Chinese trade surplus with Jordan of $5.86 billion. In other words, for every dollar Jordan exports to China, China exports approximately $14.6 to Jordan. This ratio reflects the significant gap in Jordan’s ability to access the Chinese market.
However, looking at the relationship from a trade perspective alone may not be sufficient. China has become a major economic partner for Arab countries. In 2025, China’s exports to Arab economies reached $293.5 billion, compared with approximately $201 billion in Chinese imports from Arab countries, bringing total trade to nearly $495 billion, according to a report by the Jordan Strategy Forum. Therefore, the Arab market has become an important component of China’s trade activity, and the question for Jordan is how it can secure a larger share of this huge market.
Investment provides the second dimension. Chinese foreign direct investment accumulated in Jordan during the period 2010 to 2025 reached approximately $3.56 billion through 71 projects, according to the Jordan Strategy Forum. These investments were distributed across different sectors. The energy sector accounted for approximately $3.17 billion, or around 89 percent of total Chinese investment in Jordan. In comparison, investment in consumer products and services amounted to approximately $360 million, while investment in automobile manufacturing reached $19.71 million, financial and business services $6.4 million, and information and communications technology only $4.27 million.
These figures tell us something important. Jordan has succeeded in attracting Chinese capital, but it has not yet succeeded in diversifying this investment in a way that makes it a broad driver of productive transformation. When around 89 percent of investment is concentrated in one sector, its impact on other sectors and domestic value chains remains relatively limited. The priority in the coming period should not simply be larger Chinese investments, but more diversified investments that are more closely linked to production, exports, and technology.
The comparison presented by the Jordan Strategy Forum with other Arab countries also reveals the scale of the opportunity. Cumulative Chinese investment reached $12.19 billion in Iraq, $9.72 billion in the UAE, $8.29 billion in Egypt, $7.02 billion in Saudi Arabia, and $3.93 billion in Morocco, compared with $3.56 billion in Jordan. The number of Chinese projects implemented during the same period reached 1,227 in the UAE, 540 in Saudi Arabia, 375 in Egypt, and 177 in Morocco, compared with only 71 projects in Jordan.
However, Jordan’s objective should not simply be to compete with these countries in terms of the number of projects or the volume of capital. Jordan’s real advantage could lie in building a production and export base serving multiple markets, benefiting from its geographical location, trade agreements, industrial zones, and skilled workforce. The objective should be to attract Chinese investment to Jordan for production and exports, rather than solely for access to the domestic market.
The real opportunity, therefore, does not lie simply in increasing the volume of trade, but in changing the nature of the relationship. Part of Chinese capital should be directed toward factories, manufacturing industries, technological projects, and logistics. Technology should be transformed into production, production into exports, and exports into employment and value added. The success of the Jordanian-Chinese relationship should ultimately be measured by four key indicators: the value of productive investment, the volume of Jordanian exports, the number of quality jobs created, and the amount of technology and value added retained within the Jordanian economy.
Only then can the relationship move from trade with China to production with China, and from a relationship dominated by a trade deficit to a partnership capable of contributing to rebuilding Jordan’s productive capacity and generating attractive economic returns for both sides.
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