Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Wednesday evening at King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, after arriving in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit.
In his speech, reported by the Saudi news agency, the Chinese president said: “It gives me great pleasure on this occasion to extend, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, my sincere greetings and best wishes to the friendly kingdom, government and people … China and the Kingdom have had a close relationship of friendship, cooperation and brotherhood for the past 32 years.” To establish diplomatic relations with each other, and the two sides have continued to exchange understanding and support, and mutual strategic trust between each other have been continuously established, and practical cooperation between them has achieved fruitful results in all fields, and the two sides have maintained close communication and coordination in international and regional affairs.
He went on to say, “It should be especially noted that after the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership relations between the two countries in 2016, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and I have been leading the bilateral relations to achieve great development, which has benefited the two peoples and has contributed greatly to the promotion of peace, stability, prosperity and development in the region.” .
He added, “I am looking forward to the first Arab-China summit and the first summit of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States, to work with the leaders of the Arab countries and the countries of the Cooperation Council of the Gulf to elevate Sino-Arab relations and Sino-Gulf relations to a new level”.
The Chinese president stressed, according to the Saudi agency, that during the visit he will discuss in-depth bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince, and will work together to plan the development of relations Sino-Saudi.
