China Energy City will be developed on 13 sq kms in Yanjiou, near Beijing, offering facilities such as a branch of a planned Qatar-based energy exchange, a science park for energy education courses and a Sino-Arab business school, offering business education in English, Chinese and Arabic.

Esam Janahi, chief executive of GFH, said growing demand in China for Gulf crude oil was a key factor in his company¡¯s decision to invest. 

¡°With more than 50 per cent of that oil supply expected to come from the Middle East, China is an attractive commercial opportunity for Middle East energy companies,¡± said Mr Janahi, who is partnering with GFH sister company Gulf Energy and China¡¯s Long Juan Co.

The move will spur further Arab investment in China, he said. Arab money is increasingly looking east to find attractive returns for the surplus petrodollars that have accumulated in the region during the past four years but China is still often regarded as a difficult place to invest.

Chinese companies have targeted oil, gas and construction projects in the Gulf, while demand for Chinese goods soars in the consumer societies of the region.

GFH has launched similar energy cities in Qatar and India, near Mumbai.

Qatar¡¯s Energy City is set to launch the International Mercantile Exchange which plans to compete with other regional futures exchanges.

Officials say the exchange might seek to develop contracts based on natural gas, Qatar¡¯s main resource.