Saudi FM lauds growing China-Arab cooperation as business conference opens in Riyadh

RIYADH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Sunday that the 10th Arab-China Business Conference is an opportunity to consolidate the historical Arab-China friendship, build a shared future that will benefit both sides, and promote peace and development in the world.

The minister made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the conference, which kicked off in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Sunday.

The Saudi minister underlined the dedication by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to strengthening the long-standing and advanced partnership between the Arab countries and China in all vital investment fields.

He added that the theme of the conference "collaborating for prosperity" highlights the great importance, potential, compatibility and common vision that underlies the investment and trade relations between the Arab world and China.

China is the largest trading partner of Arab countries, and the volume of trade exchange between the two sides reached 430 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, a 31-percent increase from 2021, he said.

He further stated that the Saudi-China trade, which makes up about 25 percent of the total volume of trade exchange between China and Arab countries, reached 106.1 billion dollars in 2022, a 30-percent rise from 2021.

Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih welcomed China's participation in the conference, which he said "is heading toward growth and expansion."

Al-Falih said that Arab countries would work with China to seize the opportunities for broader economic integration of the two sides.

He added that China's outward foreign direct investment grew by 20 percent annually over the past decade, but there is still potential to increase investment flows in the other direction to take advantage of China's large and prosperous market.

In his speech, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed that Saudi Arabia's hosting of the conference is a continuation of its successful efforts since holding the first China-Arab States Summit in 2022 in Riyadh, which gave "a new impetus" to the Arab-China cooperation in various fields.