Oil will see Sino-Arab trade double

China and Arab League nations emphasized the role that cooperation deals on oil, natural gas and renewable energy will play in the two sides' bid to double trade volumes by 2010. An agreement signed at the end of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Beijing Thursday outlined plans to start oil talks between Beijing and the 22 Arab League members, state media reported. Mohammed Hussein al-Shaali, state minister for foreign affairs of the United Arab Emirates and a co-chair of the forum, said the two sides want annual bilateral trade to reach US$100 billion in the next four years, up from the US$51.3 billion recorded last year. China is believed to source 58% of its oil imports from the Middle East and, with domestic demand rising by about 15% a year, it is making considerable diplomatic efforts in the region to secure access to more.