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China, Saudi Arabia agree to advance cooperation in new energy, digitization, green economies
- Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Saudi Arabia for fostering China’s Middle East diplomacy
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Mohammed bin Salman calls for aligning development strategies ‘Vision 20230’ with China’s Development Initiative
- China is willing to work closely with Saudi Arabia and advance together on the path of development says Chinese Premier Li Qiang
By: Muhammad Arif, Editor NSN.Asia
Riyadh: China and Saudi Arabia have agreed to advance their cooperation partnership in new energy, information and communication, and the digital and green economies as Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud held their bilateral talks in Riyadh on Wednesday to fostering East-West Asia connectivity under the Silk Road Spirit of mutual respect and win cooperation.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Saudi Arabia on an official trip.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his entourage in in Riyadh
Chinese Premier Li and Saudi Crown Prince co-chaired the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee with him in Riyadh on Wednesday to fostering China’s Middle East diplomacy in new era.
During their talks, premier 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, while encouraging their respective companies to invest in each other’s countries and working together to maintain global industrial and supply chain stability.
The premier made the remarks when meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and co-chairing the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee with him.
China is willing to firmly support Saudi Arabia and work towards mutual achievements, firmly regard each other’s development as an important opportunity, and further strengthen the role of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee, with the aim of advancing bilateral relations to new heights and continuously improving the well-being of both peoples, said the premier.
China and Saudi Arabia, as major developing countries, share extensive common interests. China is willing to work closely with Saudi Arabia and advance together on the path of development, said Li.
He 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.
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 said.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and the visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang co-chaired the fourth session of the High-Level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee in Riyadh on Wednesday.
In his remarks, the Saudi crown prince said that Saudi Arabia and China have a long history of friendly exchanges.
Under the strategic guidance of King Salman and President Xi, Saudi Arabia-China relations have maintained a high level of development, and the two countries are reliable comprehensive strategic partners to each other, he added.
With high-level political mutual trust and deepening cooperation in various fields, Saudi Arabia looks forward to further strengthening high-level exchanges with China, fully utilizing the High-Level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee mechanism, aligning development strategies more closely, and enhancing communication and cooperation in areas such as energy, investment, finance, and culture and people-to-people exchanges, so as to better serve the benefits of the two peoples, the crown prince said.
Sharing similar positions and bearing common responsibilities on international and regional issues, Saudi Arabia and China adhere to the principles of respecting other nations’ sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, he said.
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, he told Li.
During the meeting, the committee discussed aspects of joint cooperation between the two countries, especially areas of coordination in political and security aspects, trade opportunities, as well as in the realms of energy, investment, culture and technology.
The two sides also discussed the latest developments in the regional and international arenas, and the efforts of the two countries towards addressing them. At the end of the meeting, the Crown Prince and Li Qiang signed the minutes of the fourth session of the Saudi-Chinese High-Level Joint Committee.
The reception was attended by Minister of the National Guard Prince Abdullah bin Bandar; Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan; Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah; Minister of State, Cabinet Member and National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban; Minister of Commerce Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi (accompanying minister); Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb; Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih; Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan; Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary; Governor of the Public Investment Fund Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and Saudi Ambassador to China Abdulrahman Al-Harbi.
The meeting was attended from the Chinese side by Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Minister of Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission Xu Xueqiang, Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua, Deputy Foreign Minister Ding Li, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission Liu Sushe, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Qun, and Director of the Office of the Premier Kang Xiuping.
During the visit, the two sides signed several bilateral cooperation documents on technical and vocational training, meteorology, and other areas.
The Gulf-Chinese talks session were held in Riyadh on Wednesday wherein leadership from both sides discussed a number of topics of common interest, most notably the developments in free trade negotiations between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and China, as well as the ways to further enhance cooperation between the two sides.
The session was co-chaired by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
The discussions included enhancing cooperation between the two sides, ways to develop it in various fields to serve their shared interests, and the importance of implementing the Joint Action Plan for 2023–2027. Albudaiwi highlighted the importance of moving forward and concluding these negotiations in the near future.
The two sides confirmed that the Gulf-Chinese discussions addressed the ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides, based on solid relations and shared interests, reflecting the outcomes of the first Gulf-Chinese Summit held in Saudi Arabia in December 2022.
- Cooperation for Regional and International Peace
The meeting addressed the views of the two sides on a number of regional and international issues, in addition to the latest developments in the region, foremost of which was the crisis in Gaza and the ongoing serious violations by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, according to a statement issued by the GCC.
The Chinese side stressed the necessity of working to achieve a ceasefire and implementing all relevant international and UN resolutions.
