At 12:00 p.m. local time on December 8, 2022, President Xi Jinping held talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Al-Yamamah Royal Palace in Riyadh.
On behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud first welcomed Xi Jinping and sincerely congratulated him on the success of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the re-election of President Xi Jinping General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
Xi Jinping said, “Saudi Arabia is a key member of the Arab and Islamic world, a key independent force in the multipolar world, and a key strategic partner of China in the Middle East. In recent years, relations between China and Saudi Arabia have developed at a high level. With the deep and complex developing international and regional situation, the strategic and comprehensive nature of China-Saudi Arabia relations is gaining importance. China has made developing its relations with Saudi Arabia a priority in the overall diplomatic situation, particularly in the Middle East. It is willing to work with the Saudi side on the path of national revitalization, enhance the synergy of development strategies, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, enhance communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and further develop the China- Saudi Arabia to promote comprehensive strategic partnership. »
Xi Jinping stressed, “China firmly supports the Saudi side in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability, and also supports Saudi Arabia to pursue a development path according to its terms.” China supports Saudi Arabia’s major development initiatives such as “Vision 2030”, the Green Middle East. It is ready to take an active part in Saudi Arabia’s industrialization process and contribute to the diversification of its economy. The two sides should implement the alignment of joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030,” and promote cooperation between the two countries in various fields to achieve more results. China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with the Saudi side on energy policy, expand the scale of crude oil trade, strengthen exploration and development cooperation, and implement large-scale energy cooperation projects such as the Fujian Gulei ethylene project. China hopes to deepen cooperation with the Saudi side in the areas of production capacity and infrastructure development, promote the construction of the Sino-Saudi Jizan industrial center and major infrastructure projects, raise the level of trade, investment and financial cooperation, and strengthen cooperation in the Expand e-commerce, digital economy, clean energy, high technology and aerospace research and development, and strengthen application, cooperation, law and security, counter-terrorism and de-extremism. Recently, more than 100 Saudi learners wrote to me in Chinese to tell me about their love for the language, which makes me very happy. China stands ready to work with the Saudi side to promote further achievements in Chinese-language educational cooperation between the two countries. China agreed to accept Saudi Arabia as a destination for outbound travel for Chinese citizens and to develop personal and cultural exchanges between the two sides. »
Xi Jinping also said, “China supports the Saudi side to play a greater role in international and regional affairs and stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with the Saudi side within the framework of the United Nations.” United Nations, G20 and other multilateral platforms. In the current situation, the holding of the first China-Arab Summit and the China-Gulf Arab Cooperation Council Summit are of particular importance and will play a prominent strategic role in China-Arab and Sino-Arab relations Relationships play coming time. China hopes to work with the Saudi side and Arab countries to make the two summits landmark events in the history of Sino-Arab relations and Sino-Gulf relations, and Sino-Arab relations and Sino-Gulf relations at one to raise a new level. »
Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said: “Saudi Arabia and China have a close and friendly relationship. Saudi Arabia is China’s overall strategic partner in the Middle East. As the Chinese economy continues to grow vigorously and the Saudi side strives to realize its “Vision 2030”, the Saudi side hopes to strengthen mutual support with China and work together to advance the China-Saudi Arabia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to raise a higher level. We believe that President Xi Jinping’s visit will be a milestone in the history of Saudi Arabia-China relations and promote new achievements in Saudi Arabia-China cooperation in various fields, for the benefit of the two peoples, the common development and prosperity the two countries. The Saudi side upholds the one-China principle and the Chinese side’s efforts to uphold its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, as well as the Chinese side’s de-extremization measures and efforts, and firmly opposes any outside force entering China’s interior interferes with matters in the name of human rights and other issues. The Saudi side stands ready to continue actively working with China to build the “Belt and Road”, expand mutual trade and investment, welcome more Chinese companies, actively participate in Saudi Arabia’s industrialization process, engage in major infrastructure and energy construction projects in Saudi Arabia and to strengthen cooperation in the fields of automobile, science and technology, chemical industry and mining. Valuing China’s support for its Green Middle East initiative, Saudi Arabia stands ready to strengthen cooperation with China on clean energy and green development, and expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The Saudi side hopes that China will continue to help Saudi Arabia improve its Chinese teaching capacity. We thank China for supporting Saudi Arabia to become a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We stand ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China in the G20, BRICS and other multilateral frameworks, work together to address challenges such as energy security, food security and climate change, and work closely in dialogue on key regional trouble spots to help maintain peace , security and stability in the region and to contribute to the realization of common security in the region. The Saudi side is willing to play an active role in promoting the development of Sino-Arab relations and maritime ties between the two countries. I have full confidence in the prospects for Saudi Arabia-China relations. »
The two sides agreed to raise the senior management level of the joint Sino-Saudi high-level committee to that of prime minister.
Leaders from both sides jointly attended the ceremony to exchange documents on cooperation in the areas of Belt and Road, justice, education, hydrogen energy, investment and housing.
Both sides issued the Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Following the lecture, Xi Jinping attended the welcome banquet hosted by Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng participated in the activities mentioned above.
