The World Bank's recently released "Gulf Economic Update" report predicts that the economic growth rate of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will rise from 1.8% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025, and further increase to 4.5% by 2026. The report believes that the recovery of the oil and gas market, the transformation towards economic diversification, and prudent fiscal policies are the main reasons for the accelerated economic growth of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. China continues to deepen cooperation with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, injecting certainty into the economic development and regional stability and prosperity of both sides. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), established in 1981 with its headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and member countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, is the most important political, economic, and security organization in the Gulf region. The Gulf Economic Update report states that overall, the economic growth rate of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries ranges from 2.2% to 4.6%, inflation remains controllable, and the outlook for sovereign debt is stable. Thanks to its clear economic development strategy, the UAE continues to make efforts in the circular economy, space economy, and other emerging economic fields, and attracts more foreign investment by establishing diverse partnerships. According to data from the UAE Ministry of Economy, the average annual growth rate of the UAE's gross domestic product from 2021 to 2024 is 4.8%, with the non oil economy growing at an average annual rate of 6.2%. In the first half of this year, the non oil foreign trade volume of the United Arab Emirates exceeded 1.7 trillion dirhams (approximately 3.67 dirhams per US dollar), setting a new historical high and increasing by 24.5% year-on-year. The Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Sani Zeyoudi, recently stated that the UAE has signed a total of 28 comprehensive economic partnership agreements with other partners, of which 10 have already come into effect. These agreements will help consolidate the UAE's position in the global supply chain. Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The International Monetary Fund recently released a report stating that the Saudi economy has shown resilience, with non oil economic activity continuing to expand and unemployment rates falling to new lows. By 2026, Saudi Arabia's GDP growth rate is expected to increase to 3.9%. Data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Saudi Arabia's non oil revenue was nearly $40 billion, accounting for 49.7% of the total government revenue, which is basically on par with oil revenue, with the largest growth in the retail, catering, and hotel industries. The Saudi Arabian News believes that this represents a "milestone" progress in Saudi Arabia's accelerated economic diversification transformation. The World Bank's "Gulf Economic Update" report specifically introduces Oman's financial management as a separate case study. The report suggests that by implementing economic diversification policies, improving expenditure efficiency, and effectively managing oil and gas revenues, Oman's public debt to GDP ratio has sharply decreased from 68% in 2020 to 35% in 2024. In addition, Bahrain has made significant progress in promoting economic diversification and transformation, especially in developing financial services, manufacturing, and tourism industries based on its own characteristics. Thanks to its well-developed financial infrastructure and relaxed regulatory environment, the financial services industry has become the largest economic sector in Bahrain. The overall development prospects are good. Currently, oil and gas exports remain an important economic pillar for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In 2024, due to factors such as autonomous reduction in oil production, the output value of the oil economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries decreased by 3%. However, due to the expansion of the non oil economy by 3.9%, the economy still achieved a growth rate of 1.8% for the whole year. Since the beginning of this year, the overall oil and gas market has improved, and the income of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is expected to rebound significantly. Not long ago, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued a statement stating that eight major oil producing countries, both OPEC and non OPEC, have decided to increase their daily oil production by 547000 barrels starting from September this year. These 8 countries announced voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day in November 2023, but the cuts have been postponed multiple times since then. At the same time, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have accelerated the process of economic diversification. Among the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the proportion of non oil economy to GDP has exceeded 50%, with Bahrain having the highest proportion at 85%. The non oil economy also accounts for 74% of the UAE's gross domestic product, while in Saudi Arabia it is 54.8%. The Gulf Economic Update report states that despite the negative impact of regional conflicts on shipping stability in waters such as the Red Sea, relevant countries have taken timely measures to respond. From November 2023 to April 2025, the number of fleets passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Red Sea region decreased by 6%. To this end, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have increased their routes around the Cape of Good Hope and intensified their sea freight exports to emerging markets in Asia. Safa Kogali, the head of the World Bank's Gulf Cooperation Council country department, stated that in the context of increasing global economic uncertainty, Gulf Cooperation Council countries have maintained economic resilience and stabilized the long-term sustainable growth of regional economies through measures such as accelerating economic diversification. The continuous deepening of cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is a strategic partnership. China maintains its position as the largest trading partner and largest exporter of petrochemical products in the Gulf Cooperation Council. In 2024, the trade volume between China and the Caribbean reached 288.09 billion US dollars, and China imported 180 million tons of crude oil from the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In May of this year, the ASEAN China GCC Summit was held in Malaysia. China, ASEAN, and the Gulf Cooperation Council are all important global economies with highly complementary economic structures. Against the backdrop of international turmoil and sluggish global economic growth, establishing a trilateral summit as a platform for communication and cooperation can create a vibrant economic circle and growth pole, which is of great significance for the prosperity of each country's economy and the stable development of the region. The UAE Policy Center has released a research report stating that the ASEAN China GCC Summit marks a crucial step for the three parties to strengthen economic and trade integration, providing support for resisting unilateralism and protectionism. Starting from June 9th this year, China has implemented a visa free policy for ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, which also means that China has achieved "full coverage" of visa free access for Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Former Bahrain National Assembly member Jassim Hussain stated that strengthening personnel exchanges and trade cooperation between Gulf Cooperation Council countries and China will create greater benefits for both sides. The various sectors of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are generally full of expectations for strengthening practical cooperation with China. Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser recently stated that China is an important strategic market for Saudi Aramco, and the company will continue to expand its investment in China, with broad prospects for cooperation between the two sides. Ahmed Sulayim, Executive Chairman and CEO of Dubai Multi Commodity Trading Center, said that China is a key engine of global economic growth, and the United Arab Emirates is China's second largest trading partner and largest export market in West Asia and North Africa. UAE companies hope to work together with more Chinese companies to contribute to the development of Arab Chinese economy and trade. (New Society)