People's Republic of China President Xi Jinping received here on Friday Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, Saudi Press Agency said. The Crown Prince arrived in Beijing on Thursday following visits to Pakistan and India. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," Xi told the Crown Prince in a meeting in the Great Hall of the People. "Saudi Arabia's relations with China can be traced back a very long time in the past," the Crown Prince said. "Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China." The Crown Prince conveyed the greetings and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Xi while the Chinese president conveyed his greetings and appreciation to the Saudi monarch. During the meeting, they reviewed the Saudi-Chinese strategic relations, cooperation between the two friendly countries in various fields, developments in the region and international arenas, as well as the efforts made towards them. During the meeting, the Crown Prince affirmed the effectiveness of the Saudi-Chinese coordination at the economic level, stressing that the trade exchange between the two countries increased by 32% last year, pointing out that the Council is able to create more opportunities for the two countries. The Crown Prince deemed the Arabian Peninsula a major part of the Silk Road of the Chinese president's initiative. The Silk Road initiative and China's strategic attitudes are very much in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030, stressing to take on all the challenges facing the two countries. The Crown Prince told the Chinese president they could join the two projects "to realize more progress and jointly confront challenges". The Crown Prince noted the deep relations between Saudi Arabia and China, pointing out that they are old relations and extend to thousands of years between the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula and the Chinese people. For his part, the Chinese president pointed to the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries on an ongoing basis and the permanent coordination on international and regional issues of common concern in recent years. The Chinese president appreciated the important contribution of the Crown Prince in this regard, stressing that this will vigorously boost bilateral relations. The Chinese president stressed his country's keenness to make more joint efforts with the Kingdom to open up new horizons for friendship and strategic relations between the two countries, noting the formation of the Saudi-Chinese High-Level Joint Committee and its actions, as it succeeded in preparing a package of projects in vital fields. Xi told the Crown Prince the two countries must strengthen international cooperation on de-radicalization to "prevent the infiltration and spread of extremist thinking", Chinese state television said. Saudi Arabia respected and supported China's right to protect its own security and take counter-terror and de-radicalization steps, the Crown Prince told Xi, according to the same report, and was willing to increase cooperation. He met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng earlier on Friday. Vice Premier Han suggested during his meeting with the crown prince that the two countries deepen partnerships in energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high-tech. President Xi later held a dinner banquet in honor of the Crown Prince on his visit to China. — SPA/Agencies
