Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Friday, in Beijing, to discuss a new horizon for bilateral friendship and strategic relationship. The Chinese president also called on the two sides to reinforce synergy of development strategies and cement the integration of each other’s interests.
The two countries should speed up the signing of an implementation plan on connecting the Belt and Road Initiative with the Saudi Vision 2030,
…the Chinese President said, also expecting further progress on pragmatic cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, trade, investment and high value-added industries.
The two countries should jointly press ahead with the construction of China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) free trade zone.
China is ready to work with Saudi Arabia to jointly explore a governance path in the Middle East featuring the moves of “promoting peace through development” and to work toward a solid foundation for peace and stability in the region through jointly building the Belt and Road and strengthening regional development cooperation, Mr. Xi noted.
On his turn, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince highlighted that Saudi Arabia and China enjoy a rapid development in economic and trade cooperation at present and there is no divergence between the two sides:
Saudi Arabia is full of confidence in the bright future of China’s development under the leadership of President Xi. We see China as an important strategic partner and appreciate China’s support for the domestic reforms and development of Saudi Arabia.
Noting that the Arabian Peninsula is a part of the ancient Silk Road, he said Saudi Arabia supports the Belt and Road Initiative and hopes to align it with the Saudi Vision 2030 to deepen bilateral practical cooperation in various fields.
Trade volume between China and countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative totaled USD 1.3 trillion in 2018, according to data provided by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC). This marked a year-on-year growth of 16.3%, 3.7 percentage points higher than China’s trade growth in 2018.
One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) has been under development since 2013, in order to build trade and infrastructure networks, connecting Asia with Europe and Africa through the ancient Silk Road routes. China is expected to import $2 trillion worth of goods from countries along the Belt and Road route, in the next five years.
