RIYADH – Saudi Arabia and China inked on Tuesday 14 landmark agreements and memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at further bolstering bilateral ties and cooperation.
The deals, which include MoU for Silk Route Economic Belt and Sea Silk Route Initiative for the 21st century as well as building nuclear reactor, were signed in the presence of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The first MoU was signed by Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier, minister of defense and chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, and Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC). The deal was aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation in the field of the Silk Route Economic Belt and the initiative of the Maritime Silk Route for the 21st century and cooperation in the field of productive energy.
Hashim Yamani, president of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and Wang Shu Jin, chairman of the Board of Directors of Chinese Nuclear Engineering Company, signed an MoU for cooperation in building nuclear reactor with a high-temperature coolant gas. Yamani signed another MoU for cooperation in the field of renewable energy, and China was represented in signing it by Nur Bekri, head of Chinese National Energy Commission.
Prince Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and Wang Yi, foreign minister of China, signed the MoU for cooperation in the field of science and technology while another MoU was inked by Prince Turki Bin Saud and Ran Chen Chi, chairman of Satellite Navigation Office in China, for cooperation in the field of satellite navigation. Dr. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, minister of communications and information technology, and Xu Shaoshi, chairman of NDRC, signed the MoU for cooperation in developing Information Silk Route.
Adel Al-Jubeir, minister of foreign affairs, and Wang Yi signed a MoU for establishing mechanism for consultations on combating terrorism while Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, minister of commerce and industry, and Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hu Chen, inked another one for industrial cooperation.
Another MoU was signed by Khaled Al-Falih, chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco and Lee Chang Wen, Chinese ambassador to the Kingdom, to strengthen cooperation in the field of research and development between Saudi Aramco and the Chinese Development Research Center. A framework agreement for strategic cooperation between the Saudi Aramco and China National Petrochemical Company (SINOPEC) for the development of industrial investments and local content was also inked.
A MoU between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and Management of Cultural Heritage in China was signed for cooperation and exchange of knowledge in the field of cultural heritage was signed. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, minister of finance and chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, and Wang Yi signed a loan agreement for the project of protection of much humid territories and development of Hewanqe Lake, in Anhui province of China. Another loan agreement in favor of environmental development project for the regions inhabited by Hui community in Shaanxi province was also inked on the occasion.
