Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, in Saudi Arabia, on March 24, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
State Councilor Wang Yi starts his six-stop tour of Middle East region in Saudi Arabia
China and Saudi Arabia expressed on Wednesday their shared objections to interference by other countries in one another's internal affairs and said that they support each other's right to choose their own path of development.
Global fairness and justice and the regional and international situation were high on the agenda of the first leg of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's six-stop Middle East tour, which began in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
During his visit to the country, Wang met separately with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan.
At the meetings, Wang made clear Beijing's staunch support for Saudi Arabia's pursuit of a development path suited to its own conditions, as well as China's appreciation of Saudi Arabia's strong support on issues regarding the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Bilateral mutual trust will be even greater as the two sides champion sovereignty, national dignity and development rights and interests, and support for China means support for the principles of the United Nations Charter, Wang said.
The two countries are expected to further safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, oppose unilateralism, bullying and interference in other nations' affairs, and safeguard the common interests of developing nations, Wang added.
The Saudi Arabian crown prince expressed his country's firm support for China on issues such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as the nation's opposition to intervention in China's internal affairs and opposition to attempts to undermine China's relationship with the Islamic world.
Riyadh is ready to work with Beijing to safeguard security and stability in the region and the world, he added.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, in Saudi Arabia, on March 24, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Saudi Arabian foreign minister told Wang that no country is superior to others or has the right to judge others arbitrarily.
Speaking on future bilateral cooperation, Wang named traditional areas such as trade and investment as well as emerging sectors such as 5G technologies, artificial intelligence and big data, as areas that will contribute to the diversification and sustainability of Saudi Arabia's economy.
China is ready to work with Arab countries including Saudi Arabia to jointly produce a China-Arab initiative for data security cooperation in order to make the digital economy safer, regulated, open and win-win, Wang added.
In an interview with Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya, Wang said the Chinese government plans to invite Palestinian and Israeli public figures to have talks in China, the television channel's website reported on Wednesday.
At a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Nayef Al-Hajraf on Wednesday, both sides stated their readiness to finalize negotiations on the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement at an early date in order to help Gulf states speed up their economic recovery amid the pandemic.
China is ready to bolster cooperation with the GCC on the fight against COVID-19 and is ready to play a constructive role in ensuring regional security, Wang said.
GCC members endorse the strategic cooperation with China and China's role in helping to stabilize the Middle East region, and the GCC is ready to learn from China's experience in tackling the pandemic, the secretary-general said.
