Libya-China Cooperation Committee: Bilateral trade surpassed $3 billion as Chinese companies accelerate return

The Head of Libya’s High Committee for Supervising Libyan-Chinese Cooperation, Khaled Rashid, said trade between Libya and China exceeded $3 billion in 2025, stressing that commercial activity between the two countries is driven almost entirely by the private sector, amid joint efforts to strengthen economic partnership and create conditions for the return of Chinese companies and the resumption of suspended projects.

Speaking to RT, Rashid said China is a strategic partner for Libya as the world’s second-largest economy. He noted that, before 2011, Chinese companies had signed contracts worth more than $25 billion, covering housing, infrastructure, development zones, and other key projects supporting Libya’s economy and reconstruction.

He added that since its establishment, the committee has worked closely with the Chinese side, contributing to the reopening of the Chinese Embassy in Tripoli and the upgrading of diplomatic representation. It also organized an official visit to China last March, during which meetings were held with officials from the Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce, as well as the Communist Party of China, to discuss expanding economic and investment cooperation, facilitating visas, and strengthening trade and banking ties.

Rashid said China has taken practical steps to deepen economic cooperation, including launching a direct COSCO maritime shipping route linking Chinese ports with the Libyan ports of Benghazi and Misrata. He said the service has reduced shipping times from more than a month to around two weeks, a development expected to boost trade volumes and improve the flow of goods.

He also revealed that procedures to launch a direct air cargo route between Libya and China have reached their final stages, saying the project will support trade and investment while enhancing Libya’s role as a regional transit hub thanks to its strategic location.

Regarding suspended projects, Rashid said technical committees have completed their review of previous contracts signed with Chinese companies and forwarded their findings to the Chinese Embassy in Tripoli to discuss mechanisms for completing, settling, or converting some projects into new investments that serve the interests of both sides.

He confirmed that several Chinese companies have already begun returning to Libya to resume work on a number of projects, describing the Chinese government’s decision to lift travel restrictions on Chinese firms operating in parts of eastern and western Libya as an important step toward restoring economic activity amid improving security and economic conditions.

Rashid also announced that negotiations on establishing a solar power plant in western Libya, in coordination with the Renewable Energy Authority, have reached their final stages. He said the project is among the top priorities of Libyan-Chinese cooperation in clean energy, alongside expanding cultural, academic, and technological cooperation.