China ready to work closely with Saudi Arabia, advancing together on path of development: Premier Li

RIYADH, Sept. 12 -- China and Saudi Arabia, as major developing countries, share extensive common interests and China is willing to work closely with Saudi Arabia and advance together on the path of development, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Li concluded his official visit to the Middle East country, during which he held talks and co-chaired the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Li's visit to Saudi Arabia conveyed the message that China-Saudi cooperation is not merely a short-term partnership, but a long-term commitment aimed at achieving sustainable development for both countries, Ibrahim Al-Shammari, research director of the Riyadh Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Xinhua.

During the trip, the two sides signed the minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Joint Committee, along with several bilateral cooperation documents on technical and vocational training, meteorology, and other areas.

Al-Shammari said the defining characteristics of Saudi Arabia-China practical cooperation are its comprehensiveness and strategic focus, which can be summarized in three key points. First, the economic complementarity between the two nations. Second, the diversity of their collaboration, which extends beyond the energy sector to encompass advanced technology, infrastructure investment, and large-scale projects. Third, the strategic alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030.

On economic complementarity, Li said the China-Saudi Arabia economic and trade cooperation is facing many favorable conditions for further deepening.

The latest data released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics showed that China was the largest importing nation for Saudi Arabia in April, contributing to 16.6 percent of the kingdom's total goods exports valued at around 16.9 billion Saudi riyals (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Between 2019 and 2023, the value of Saudi non-oil exports to China exceeded 176 billion riyals (about 47.5 billion U.S. dollars), said the statistics body.

Saudi Arabia relies on China as its largest trading partner and top oil importer, while China views Saudi Arabia as a key partner in securing its energy needs to meet its growing demand, Al-Shammari said.

On the diversity of bilateral cooperation, Li called on both sides to further expand bilateral trade, deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as oil and gas, petrochemicals and infrastructure, explore collaboration in emerging fields like new energy, information and communication, and the digital and green economies.

"China is the Kingdom's first economic partner, especially in the commercial field, where trade reached a very high level, exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars last year and also grew during the first half of this year. Trade between the Kingdom and China is equivalent to 90 percent of the total trade of the G7 countries, which are economically advanced," Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih told Xinhua in an exclusive interview Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia and China are driving the development of their economic and trade relations through major initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, which aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030, said Al-Shammari.

"We now have about 750 Chinese joint ventures or companies operating in the Kingdom alone, so the Chinese presence is increasing. Today, many unprecedented construction projects in Saudi Arabia are supplied by Chinese contracting companies and building materials companies, including significant projects in NEOM, tourism projects, etc. We aspire to increase Chinese investments in the Kingdom, especially in the new promising areas of the Saudi economy," said Al-Falih.

China is willing to firmly engage in mutual support with Saudi Arabia and work towards mutual achievements, regarding each other's development as an important opportunity, said Li during the visit.

Steady progress leads to lasting success. The stable momentum of China-Saudi Arabia relations is being further bolstered by strong political mutual support and robust people-to-people exchanges.

China puts the development of relations with Saudi Arabia as a priority in its overall diplomacy, especially in its Middle East diplomacy, Li told the Saudi crown prince.

China supports Saudi Arabia in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs and is ready to enhance multilateral coordination with Saudi Arabia, foster unity and cooperation among Asian nations, jointly uphold international fairness and justice, and promote global governance in a more just and reasonable direction, Li added.

In response, the Saudi crown prince told Li that Saudi Arabia highly appreciates China's just stance on the Palestinian issue and is ready to collaborate closely with China on international multilateral affairs, contributing to the maintenance of regional and global peace, security, and stability.

"This visit offered both sides an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, reinforcing their positions on the global stage and highlighting their political consensus," said Al-Shammari.

The key to state-to-state relations lies in close bonds between peoples. During his visit, Li also urged both sides to successfully organize the China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture in 2025, advance cooperation in culture, think tanks, education, media, non-governmental and people-to-people exchanges, and continuously enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

In recent years, people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have continued to grow. Four Saudi universities have introduced Chinese language majors, and eight primary and middle schools now offer optional Chinese language courses for their students.

"Cooperation between the two sides in culture and education has been steadily growing, with academic exchange programs and cultural initiatives fostering greater understanding between the peoples of both countries," Al-Shammari said.

The two countries can create more significant outcomes when working together, given their expertise and increasing global influence, Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Fund for Development, told Xinhua.

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