09-09-04

Saudi Arabia and China have decided to hold consultations at various levels on a regular basis. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah held separate meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. Bilateral relations figured in the discussions. Li delivered an invitation to the crown prince from Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit the country.

At both meetings, the Kingdom voiced satisfaction over the growing bilateral ties. China’s significant role in regional and international affairs also came up at the talks, according to official sources. They said the two countries shared many common interests and held identical views on important regional and international issues. Broad cooperation between the two countries was also in focus.

"The two countries will support each other on international issues," a senior Chinese diplomat said. He added that bilateral economic, trade, cultural and educational cooperation had developed steadily.

Li, who signed the MoU with Nizar Madani, undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China was a "sincere friend and cooperative partner of the Kingdom." He hoped that bilateral cooperation would be further reinforced through joint efforts.

The Chinese minister kicked off a four-day official visit to the Kingdom. The visit has come in the context of China’s soaring energy needs, as its economy has taken off. In March the Chinese state oil company Sinopec signed a deal to explore natural gas in the Kingdom’s Empty Quarter, an official said.

Li held talks with GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah in Riyadh and said his country would work to strengthen cooperation with the six-nation block.

"We will work together to deepen our cooperation in the field of energy," Li told after the meeting.
Li acknowledged discussing the issue of high oil prices with Saudi officials. Al-Attiyah said the GCC member states were ready to supply China with needed oil and gas "within the strategic partnership" between the two parties.

Li also told China would like to participate in the process of reconstruction in Iraq, saying his country pledged to provide aid to the Iraqi people. He said China believes the Iraqi people should be able "to make decisions independently soon," stressing that the United Nations "should play an important role" in Iraq.
Li is currently on a regional tour, which will also take him to Yemen, Oman and Egypt. He is scheduled to leave the Kingdom for Muscat. The itinerary is also likely to include his participation in the first session of the ministerial meeting of the Forum on Cooperation Between Arab States and China to be held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

Source: Arab News