Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, remains "committed" to plans to build a 200,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, the company's chief executive Khalid Al-Falih said on Tuesday.

Aramco's subsidiary, Aramco Overseas, signed a pact in March 2011 with top Chinese oil firm PetroChina on building the refinery, saying it planned to supply up to 200,000 bpd to the project via a long-term contract.

"We are committed to the Yunnan project and we will pursue it," Al-Falih told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing.

Asked if that meant supplying crude oil or investing in the construction of the refinery itself, Al-Falih said "both".