The Chinese-Gulf Summit was launched in Riyadh under the chairmanship of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This comes on the sidelines of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia.
Within the framework of the Chinese-Gulf summit, a series of strategic deals were signed, and the Chinese President held another summit meeting with leaders of Arab countries. During the meetings, Xi stressed that China will continue to import oil in large quantities from the Gulf countries, revealing plans to establish a Chinese-Gulf investment council.
The release for the first Chinese-Gulf summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries mentioned:
“The leaders’ agreement to strengthen the strategic partnership between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and China, pushing it towards new horizons, and adopting a joint action plan for the coming period (2023-2027) to achieve this”.
In addition, the statement affirmed "China's support for the efforts of the GCC countries to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintain its security and stability, and achieve development." While pointing out, "The council's commitment to the one-China principle and its support for China's efforts to develop its economy and maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The leaders also stressed "the importance of continuing to deepen cooperation between the two sides in the fields of energy, trade, space, and health, and work to ensure the flexibility of supply chains and the security of food and energy supplies," according to the statement.
It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia is considered China's largest oil supplier. The joint statement stressed the importance of global market stability and cooperation in the field of energy. While striving to promote non-oil trade and increase cooperation in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
A Distinguishing Milestone
The Chinese leader said that his visit, during which he would meet other leaders from the Gulf region and attend a broader summit with Arab League members, paves the way for what he described as a "new era" in relations.
"China looks forward to working with Saudi Arabia and Arab countries to turn the two summits into a distinguishing milestone in the history of Chinese-Arab relations and relations between China and the GCC countries, and to elevate these relations to new horizons," the Foreign Ministry quoted Xi.
Prior to the two summits, Xi held bilateral talks with Kuwait's Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Mishaal Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Lieutenant-General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In this context, diplomats said that the Chinese delegation will sign agreements and memorandums of understanding with several countries, in addition to Saudi Arabia, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei on cloud computing and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities.
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"China's support for the efforts of the GCC states to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintain their security and stability, and achieve development."