Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a delegation including top ministers and other officials are in China this week for talks aimed at pushing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 broad economic reforms.
The visit to global economic powerhouse China, like the Deputy Crown Prince’s visit to the United States in June, hopes to “showcase Saudi Arabia as a dynamic international nation with diverse promising opportunities for global investors,” Reuters reports. Chinese and Japanese banks and companies are expected to play major roles in the reforms.
And, like the Prince’s visit to the United States, deals between the government and private sector are likely to increase as a result. According to a report in Bloomberg, Alibaba may be setting its sights on Saudi Arabia. Billionaire Jack Ma is said to be “extremely interested in investing in the kingdom,” Bloomberg’s Anthony DiPaola reports.
Prince Mohammed met China’s vice premier Zhang Gaoli on Tuesday.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in China this week.
“During the meeting, the strategic relationships and future opportunities to enhance the existing partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China were reviewed,” SPA said.
The SPA reports that China and Saudi Arabia signed 15 agreements and memorandums of understanding on Tuesday following a high-level meeting led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Chinese Vice Premier Gaoli.
A report by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) listed the accords signed as follows:
• Memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy development;
• MOU on oil storage;
• MOU on cooperation on mining;
• MOU on housing development;
• MOU on cooperation between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Saudi Fund for Development;
• MOU on cooperation on water resources;
• MOU on the construction of a new city;
• MOU on cooperation on product quality control, supervision, testing and quarantine;
• MOU on a loan fund to help finance the reconstruction of the areas affected by earthquakes;
• MOU on cooperation between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology;
• Agreement for a development loan to help finance the construction of buildings of the Faculty of Professional Engineering and Financial Project;
• Silk Road executive development program;
• Executive program of the Convention on Cultural Cooperation;
• Cooperation program between China’s Department of Standardization and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality; and
• Memorandum of cooperation on translation and publication of literary and classical works.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed strategic ties and efforts to strengthen the existing partnership between China and Saudi Arabia.
Photos show Saudi Arabia’s recently appointed Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Khalid Al-Falih with the delegation.
The MOU on housing development was said to be a memorandum of cooperation between the ministry and Ningxia Region in China to develop the Al-Asfar outskirts in the Al-Ahsa Province and build 100,000 housing units,
according to a report in Al Arabiya. The Deputy Crown Prince also met with Saudi students on Tuesday, photos from the SPA show.
