China attaches great importance to its ties with Saudi Arabia and will further strengthen the friendly cooperation on the occasion of 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said here Wednesday.
In a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud bin al- Faisal, Yang said both sides should enhance friendship and consolidate political mutual trust.
He said the two countries should deepen cooperation in energy, infrastructure, finance and science and technology so as to inject dynamism into the bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
Both sides should also carry out various exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education to foster closer friendship between people of the two countries and strengthen the positive public opinions for
bilateral relations, Yang said.
China would like to join hands with Saudi Arabia in pushing forward the relations between China and the Riyadh-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), he added.
Al-Faisal said the bilateral relations have witnessed smooth development with fruitful cooperation in various areas in recent years.
The Saudi-Chinese ties are built on solid foundation as both sides have carried out cooperation in trade, science and technology, and education, he said.
Both sides have strong aspirations to develop relations and people's understanding and friendly ties are deepening, he added.
The two sides are committed to the world peace and development and both advocate abidance by international laws and the generally- accepted
principles of international relations.
Saudi Arabi is ready to continuously promote the strategic and friendly ties with China, al-Faisal stressed.
The two ministers also exchanged views on some international and regional issues and met the press after their talks.
The Chinese foreign minister arrived in Riyadh Tuesday afternoon, on the last leg of his first official foreign visit of the year, which has taken him to five African nations, namely Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Morocco.