What's going on?, Two heavyweight Saudi ministers visit China one after another for cooperation | China | Minister
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Swah officially began his visit to China on July 2, with destinations including Beijing, Shenzhen, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. According to released reports, Swaha will meet with several senior Chinese officials and business leaders in the field of information technology and digital economy innovation.
Prior to this, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal Ibrahim, had just led a delegation to attend the Summer Davos Forum held in Tianjin. According to Saudi media, this delegation is one of the highest level delegations in the history of Saudi Arabia's participation in the Davos Forum.
Faisal Ibrahim participates in the 2023 Summer Davos Forum
Why are two heavyweight Saudi ministers visiting China one after another?
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Why are they?
Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country in the G20, and is not only one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world in 2022, but also the largest economy in the Middle East. These two ministers are not only important members of the Saudi cabinet, but also very familiar with Chinese affairs.
Abdullah Swah participates in exchange activities in Hong Kong, China
Swaha previously stated in an interview with CCTV reporters that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and China is currently in the "best period in history", with close cooperation between the two countries in fields such as communication, information technology, artificial intelligence, and big data. Ibrahim has worked for many years at the Saudi National Economic and Development Commission and has visited China several times. During his participation in the Summer Davos Forum, he pointed out that Saudi Arabia is exploring more opportunities for cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructure, logistics, and manufacturing. The two countries also have great potential to jointly address the many problems that plague humanity, such as the food crisis and desertification.
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What are the highlights of the visits of the two ministers?
In 2016, Saudi Arabia launched the "2030 Vision" economic and social reform plan, which includes three pillars - building a core country in the Arab and Islamic world, a global investment powerhouse, and a world hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. The core lies in infrastructure construction, the development of cultural tourism and entertainment industries, and the transformation and upgrading of energy structure. Ibrahim's Ministry of Economy and Planning is an important part of formulating overall strategies, and the development plan since the reform and opening up is an important experience for China to achieve rapid development and maintain policy stability.
The development of the communication and information technology fields that Swaha is responsible for cannot be separated from cooperation with China. The most eye-catching aspects of the 2030 Vision are the New Future City, which covers an area of over 26500 square kilometers along the Red Sea coast, and the Linear City, which is 500 meters high, 200 meters wide, 170 kilometers long, and surrounded by mirrored glass on its exterior walls. This region focuses on developing clean energy, smart cities, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, while also hoping to connect it with other regions of Saudi Arabia and multiple countries on the Arabian Peninsula through the railway network. Many enterprises from China have deeply participated in the infrastructure construction of the "New Future City", and these enterprises have mastered the world's leading railway electrification technology, 5G technology, biotechnology, big data, and artificial intelligence development, which are indispensable resources for the diversified development of Saudi Arabia's economy.
The relationship between China and Saudi Arabia is far more than that
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In fact, since December 2022, the interaction between China and Saudi Arabia has been far more than just two visits. After the "Three Rings Summit" between the leaders of China, Arab countries, China, and Saudi Arabia, with China's mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran shook hands and made peace in Beijing, ending the diplomatic crisis since 2016. The news immediately attracted global attention.
Not only that, the Saudi cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding in March this year regarding Saudi Arabia becoming a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Saudi Ministry of Finance is also in talks with the BRICS New Development Bank to join. It is also expected that there will be positive progress in the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China regarding the use of RMB for oil trade in the near future.
In the energy sector, the "ballast stone" of China Saudi cooperation, Saudi Aramco first cooperated with Chinese enterprises to invest 12.2 billion US dollars in the construction of a refining and chemical complex in Liaoning. It also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Guangdong Province to cooperate in multiple fields such as energy, finance, science and technology innovation, and talent exchange. It also acquired 10% of the shares of a Chinese private petrochemical enterprise for 3.6 billion US dollars and signed a 20-year contract to supply 480000 barrels of crude oil to the enterprise daily.
Saudi Aramco signs a strategic investment agreement with a well-known Chinese petrochemical enterprise
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In the past June, the Saudi Ministry of Investment and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade successfully held the 10th Entrepreneurship Conference of the China Arab Cooperation Forum in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. During the conference, 30 investment agreements worth 10 billion US dollars were signed, covering various fields such as renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, minerals, supply chain, tourism, and healthcare.
The 10th Entrepreneurship Conference of the China Arab Cooperation Forum was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from June 11th to 12th
Returning to the question at the beginning of the article, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Abdul Aziz bin Salman seems to have provided us with an answer. In his keynote speech at the China Arab Entrepreneurship Conference, he told over 3000 spectators that Saudi Arabia will not pay attention to the Western suspicion of the increasingly close relationship between Saudi Arabia and China. Abdul Aziz emphasized that Saudi Arabia hopes to cooperate with China rather than compete, "because wherever there is an opportunity, we will go wherever", and China is where the opportunity lies.