China and Saudi Arabia have agreed to lift their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on Tuesday, with more focus on greater industrial capacity cooperation.
The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in industrial capacity cooperation after Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud held talks with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The MoU also said that the two nations will jointly pursue the China-proposed “Belt and Road” initiative.
The “Belt and Road” initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, proposals put forward by President Xi in 2013, to boost interconnectivity and regional development.
“I believe it will deepen the mutual strategic trust, lead to greater achievements in our mutually beneficial cooperation, and help facilitate and broaden our shared interests in international and regional affairs,” President Xi said on the upgrading of the bilateral ties.
King Al Saud on his part said that the two peoples will benefit from the elevated ties and that Saudi Arabia supports the “Belt and Road” initiative.
The Chinese President arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, his first stop in his three-nation tour of the Middle East, as the world’s second largest economy seeks closer political and economic ties with the region.
President Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia is the first by a Chinese head of state in seven years.
He will then travel to Egypt and Iran on his first overseas visit in 2016.
China and Saudi Arabia signed a number of cooperation deals after the talks between the two leaders, covering sectors such as energy, communications, environment, culture, aerospace, science and technology.
President Xi was also awarded the King Abdulaziz Medal by Salman, the highest order in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is China’s biggest global supplier of crude oil and its biggest trading partner in West Asia and Africa. In 2013, China became the biggest trading partner of Saudi Arabia for the first time.
Two-way trade reached 69.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, growing by 230 times over that of 1990 when the two countries established diplomatic ties.
