Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli chaired the first meeting of the high-level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee here on Tuesday. During the meeting, the strategic relationship and future opportunities to enhance the existing partnership between the Kingdom and China were reviewed. Following the meeting, the two countries signed 15 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs). MoUs were signed in the energy sector, on oil storage, on cooperation in mining and housing development, on cultural cooperation, on cooperation in water resources and on product quality control, supervision, testing and quarantine, and cooperation on translation and publication of literary and classical works. Agreements were also signed to create a loan fund to help finance the reconstruction of earthquake-affected areas and for a loan to help finance the construction of buildings of the Faculty of Professional Engineering and Financial Project. MoUs were also signed on the construction of a new city in Al-Asfar suburb, and on the Silk Road executive development program. Cooperation agreements were also signed between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Saudi Fund for Development, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, the Standardization Administration of China and Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization. Meanwhile, China's leading state nuclear project developer China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) said it met on Monday Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih to discuss cooperation in the nuclear power sector. Beijing is embarking on an ambitious plan to export its locally developed nuclear technology as well as its equipment manufacturing capacity, potentially worth billions of dollars. CNNC chairman Sun Qin told Al-Falih that China is ready to cooperate fully with Saudi Arabia over nuclear power, according to a short statement posted on the CNNC website late on Monday. The statement said the Saudi energy ministry welcomed CNNC in expanding its business in the Kingdom, including research and development of nuclear technology, uranium mining and the building of nuclear power stations. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on training nuclear personnel, the statement said.
