Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday urged Saudi companies to deepen their involvement in the Chinese market, and invest with greater confidence.
Li made the remarks in a meeting with representatives of the Saudi business community including Saudi Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, ACWA Power, and the Ajlan & Bros Holding Group. Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, and representatives from the China-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) joint investment commission also attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Li said that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the political relationship between China and Saudi Arabia has remained stable, their development strategies are well-aligned, and the practical cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results, with economic and trade cooperation in particular maintaining a strong momentum.
China is comprehensively advancing Chinese modernization by promoting high-quality development, continuously unlocking the demand of a large-scale market of over 1.4 billion people, Li said, adding that the country is steadily pushing forward the digital, intelligent, and green transformation and upgrading its industries.
Technological innovation in such fields as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and bio-medicine remains vibrant, which will create new economic growth drivers and foster numerous high-growth companies, Li said.
This will provide broader market opportunities and investment prospects for businesses from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Li said, encouraging more Saudi enterprises to visit China and better share the dividends of China’s development.
The China-Saudi Arabia economic and trade cooperation is facing many favorable conditions for further deepening, Li pointed out, adding that entrepreneurs from both countries should seize the opportunities and play a bigger role.
He encouraged Saudi companies to expand and strengthen cooperation with China in traditional sectors such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, infrastructure, and trade, while enhancing cooperation in emerging and future industries like the digital and green economies.
Furthermore, Li said, the Saudi companies should actively serve as bridges to enhance friendship and mutual understanding between China and Saudi Arabia, and advance the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights.