Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia this week. The visit saw the leaderships of the two countries have face-to-face exchanges, highlighting the importance China attaches to the development of its comprehensive strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.

During the visit, Wang met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. They exchanged views on China-Saudi relations, cooperation in various fields, and issues of common concern. During the visit, China and Saudi Arabia reached important consensus on a number of issues.

One issue discussed was the continuous deepening of strategic mutual trust between the two countries. Under the personal guidance of the two leaderships of state, China-Saudi relations have maintained a momentum of robust development. The two countries have cooperated in fighting the pandemic, setting a model for cooperation between nations. As China’s comprehensive strategic relationship partner, developing relations with Saudi Arabia is the priority direction of China’s Middle East policy.

Furthermore, the two discussed plans to enhance practical cooperation in various fields while facing new and important opportunities. China has entered a new stage of development and has issued the “14th Five-Year Plan” and 2035 long-term goals. It is committed to achieving high-quality development in this new era. China is willing to strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, making good use of the high-level joint committee mechanism of the two countries and promoting traditional cooperation in trade, investment, and major projects, as well as in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and big data.

China is willing to actively participate in the economic diversification of Saudi Arabia and jointly realize sustainable development.