Saudi Arabia, China emerge as comprehensive strategic partners as Chinese President Xi Jinping wraps up state visit
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and China agreed to strengthen their strategic relationship and expand commercial relations during the three-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kingdom.
Xi and his delegation held talks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the heads of key ministries, resulting in 35 memorandums of understanding and deals worth $30 billion.
The two sides signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, which committed to support each other’s core interests, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to protect the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states.
Speaking to the media at the end of Xi’s visit on Friday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi minister of foreign affairs, said deepening ties with China did not mean the Kingdom was turning its back on the US and other Western allies. .
China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner. (SPA)
He said: “The main focus of Saudi Arabia is how to grow the economy, and by working with strategic partners we will continue to find ways to develop bilateral cooperation with everyone.
“The Kingdom is a member of the G20 and aspires to be one of the top 15 economies in the world. We must be open to cooperation with everyone.
“There is no doubt that working with the second largest economy in the world is important to the development of Saudi Arabia, but that does not mean that we cannot continue to work with the largest economy in the world.
“We are trying to work with all major economies and others around the world. By working with different partners, it will ensure the transition of the Kingdom to another level of growth that will not happen by reducing opportunities from one country to another.
“We must be open to cooperate with others and that is the philosophy of the Kingdom to achieve mutual interests.”
The Saudi side reaffirmed its adherence to the one-China principle during the summit, while the Chinese side expressed support for the Kingdom in maintaining its security and stability, and rejected any -attacks targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure, territory, and Saudi interests.
“We are looking to enhance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China and find ways to develop it beyond trade,” Prince Faisal said. “The partnership supports the development of the Kingdom and serves its interests.”
Regarding regional and international issues, the two sides welcomed the first China-GCC Summit and the first Arab-Chinese Summit, both of which were held in Riyadh on Friday.
The two sides stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation through the high-level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee to achieve common goals, improve cooperation, and strengthen communication between the government and the private sector.
The two sides emphasized the importance of stability in global oil markets and agreed to explore common investment opportunities in petrochemicals, and to promote cooperation in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. -or energy.
They also agreed to cooperate on hydrocarbons, energy efficiency, localization of energy sector components and supply chains, in addition to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence.
In particular, the delegations emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative, including participation in energy and investment partnerships and utilizing the Kingdom’s location as a regional hub.
Both sides welcomed the signing of the “harmonization plan” between the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 social reform and economic diversification agenda and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Xi announced the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative – previously known as One Belt One Road – in 2013.
The initiative sets out to connect markets and manufacturers in East Asia to Europe through an extensive logistical and digital network that runs through Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa in a modern-day reimagining of the ancient Silk Road.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative shares the same goal of promoting interconnectivity through energy, trade, investment and technology cooperation as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, which was launched in 2016 by the crown prince of Saudi.
raisinTRUTH
• Saudi and Chinese officials signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, pledging to support each other’s core interests.
• Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi minister of foreign affairs, said that deepening ties with China does not mean that the Kingdom has turned its back on the US.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping and his delegation participated in summits on Friday with representatives of the GCC and Arab heads of state.
China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner. According to the Reuters news agency, bilateral trade between the two countries will hit $87.3 billion in 2021, of which China’s exports to the Kingdom reached $30.3 billion and China’s imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to $57 billion.
China’s main exports to Saudi Arabia are textiles, electronics and machinery, while China mainly imports crude oil and primary plastics from the Kingdom. In the first 10 months of 2022, Saudi oil imports to China reached 1.77 million barrels per day, worth $55.5 billion, according to Chinese customs data.
The delegations agreed to increase the volume of non-oil trade, increase joint investment, expand capacity for commercial aircraft, encourage private sector investment, and create an attractive investment environment.
The two sides stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation through the high-level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee to achieve common goals. (SPA)
In particular, they agreed to deepen cooperation in the automotive industry, supply chain, logistics, water desalination, infrastructure, manufacturing, mining, and financial sectors.
The Saudi side said it hopes to attract Chinese expertise to participate in future mega-projects in the Kingdom, and for Chinese companies to open regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
The two sides also accepted agreements on hydrogen energy, judiciary, Chinese language education, housing, direct investment, radio and television, digital economy, economic development, standardization, news media, tax administration , and anti-corruption.
The Chinese delegation also expressed their enthusiasm to deepen investment cooperation in the digital economy and green development, promote e-commerce cooperation, and explore ways of joint economic and trade cooperation with Africa.
Regarding the shared challenge of climate change, the Chinese delegation welcomed the Kingdom’s Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative and expressed its support for Saudi Arabia’s application of the circular carbon economy.
They also agreed to encourage developed countries to take their historical responsibilities seriously, by fulfilling their obligations by significantly reducing emissions before the target date, and actually helping in developing countries through financial, technical, and capacity building support.
The two sides emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in communication, digital economy, innovation, and space, in order to achieve a better digital infrastructure for the future generations of the two countries.
They also emphasized the importance of promoting cooperation and joint action in the development of the air and sea transport sector, modern means of transport and railways, and speeding up the completion of land bridge project studies in Saudi.
The two delegations confirmed their determination to develop defense cooperation in the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and cybercrimes.
They also emphasized the importance of strengthening health cooperation to combat current and future health threats and pandemics, and agreed to develop cooperation in the areas of heritage, culture, sports, tourism, and science.
