Chinese President Hu Jintao starts a state visit
to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. It is another important event in the Sino-Saudi
relations since King Abdullah paid a successful visit to China in January this
year.
During the visit, President Hu and King Abdullah are expected to discuss ways
of promoting cooperation and exchanging views on issues of common concern. They
will also sign a series of documents on cooperation in various fields.
President Hu's visit, at the invitation of King Abdullah, will surely further
consolidate and develop the traditional friendship between China and Saudi
Arabia and usher in a new era of bilateral cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to
Saudi Arabia, Wu Chunhua, said on the eve of Hu's visit.
Since China and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relationship in 1990,
leaders of both countries have attached great importance to the development of
bilateral ties, Wu said.
Friendly cooperation between the two nations has progressed steadily in
various sectors, he said.
-- in the political field, China and Saudi Arabia have closely conducted
consultations and actively coordinated their positions on many international and
regional issues, such as Arab-Israeli conflict and the Iraq war.
-- in the economic field, bilateral trade volume registered an annual growth
of 41 percent from 2001 to 2005. In the first two months of 2006 alone,
bilateral trade volume hit 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, up 43 percent as compared
to the same period of last year. China has become the fourth largest importer of
Saudi exports, and Saudi Arabia has ranked the fifth biggest destination for
Chinese exports.
-- in the energy field, bilateral cooperation has yielded remarkable
achievements on the basis of mutual benefits. From January 2005 to March 2006,
Chinese corporations and enterprises clinched 55 Saudi contracts totaling more
than 3.4 billion dollars, in oil-related projects, cement production,
telecommunications, and infrastructure construction.
Describing President Hu's visit as a milestone event, Wu said that it will
surely give a strong impetus to the comprehensive development of the Sino-Saudi
friendly cooperation.
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