Riyadh – China and Saudi Arabia are gearing up for the implementation of 35 agreements that had been signed during the visit of Saudi King Salman to Beijing last March.

China’s Ambassador to Riyadh Li Huaxin told Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone that “Beijing and Riyadh will begin in the coming period the implementation phase of all the agreements that were signed during the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to China.”

The agreements aim to “reach the highest level of strategic partnership between the two countries.”

The first batch, which included 14 agreements, was signed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the diplomat said.

Those deals were followed by more than 21 agreements signed on different occasions, including the Saudi-Chinese Cooperation Forum that was held on the sidelines of King Salman’s visit, he added.

The ambassador told Asharq Al-Awsat that a Chinese delegation from the southern province of Guangdong is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on June 5 to hold discussions with Saudi officials on the implementation of the agreements.

He said that trade between the two countries totals more than $43 billion. But the drop in oil prices has a significant impact on the value of trade.

Cooperation between Beijing and Riyadh is not limited to certain sectors. It is comprehensive and includes vital sectors such as energy, trade in raw materials, oil production and export, in addition to petrochemicals, advanced energy industry and its related fields, the diplomat said.

According to him, the Saudi-Chinese partnership also covers infrastructure projects and expansion in new fields such as renewable energy, sciences and technology.

Saudi Arabia is considered China’s biggest trade partner in the Arab world, the ambassador added.