Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, affirmed the strength and depth of the relations that bind the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China, as they included strong strategic partnerships between the two sides in several fields, covering the economy, various fields of energy, security, transportation, infrastructure and investment. He said - in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on the occasion of the visit of President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom - that the relations between the two countries embody a common strategic vision in the political, economic, trade, cultural, humanitarian, military, security and various energy fields at the regional and international levels, based on cooperation and mutual respect to serve the higher interests of the two friendly countries. He also pointed out that the Kingdom and China have close relations over the past years, which resulted in several agreements and memorandums of understanding in several fields, citing that in August 2016, Saudi/Chinese relations were greatly strengthened with the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister to the People's Republic of China, as His Highness chaired the first meeting of the Saudi-Chinese high-level joint committee, where the two sides signed the agreement establishing the Saudi-Chinese high-level joint committee, and the minutes of the first session of the committee. Al-Ibrahim also stressed the depth of trade relations between the two countries, as China is the world's largest importer of crude oil and a strategic partner, topping the list of the Kingdom's trading partners in the field of commodity trade, as the total exports from the Kingdom to China amounted to about 65.5 billion Saudi riyals in the third quarter of 2022, while the Kingdom's exports to China increased by 29.4% compared to the same period in 2021, indicating that the total value of imports to the Kingdom from China amounted to 37.4 billion Saudi riyals in the third quarter of 2022, and imports to the Kingdom from China increased by 22.9% compared to the same period from 2021, and the Kingdom's trade volume in its relationship with China reached 102.9 billion Saudi riyals in the third quarter of 2022, adding that this visit reviews aspects of bilateral relations between the Kingdom and China, and ways to support and enhance them to serve the interests of the two friendly countries, in addition to discussing joint bilateral coordination in many different issues and fields.
