The Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, or YASREF, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), is by far China's largest investment project in Saudi Arabia. In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the operation of the YASREF oil refinery with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during his state visit to Saudi Arabia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud inaugurate the operation of the YASREF oil refinery, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China's Sinopec in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 20, 2016. /Xinhua
Located in Yanbu Industrial City on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, the world-class refinery is also an essential part of Saudi Arabia's national industrialization plan and its need for economic diversification. Saudi Aramco and Sinopec signed the agreement in 2012 with a total investment of nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars. Aramco holds 62.5 percent of the stake while Sinopec holds 37.5 percent.