Jeddah– Saudi Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Thursday with China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli at al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

The Crown Prince welcomed the Vice Premier of the State Council of the Republic of China and his accompanying delegation’s visit to the Kingdom, wishing them a good stay.

For his part, the Chinese official expressed his joy to visit the Kingdom and hold meetings with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince.

The two officials chaired a meeting of the Saudi-Chinese High-level Joint Committee during which they discussed bilateral cooperation concerning political, security, commercial, energy, investment, cultural and technical fields. They also discussed the latest regional and international developments at the international level and the efforts of each country towards them.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a partnership project for the development of desalination projects using high-temperature and gas-chilled reactors in the Kingdom, was co-signed by Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Company for Development and Technical Investment Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed and Deputy Director General of the Chinese Nuclear Engineering Company Zu Bin.

Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khaled al-Falih and Chinese Vice-Chairman of the State Development and Reform Commission Ning Ji-Cha co-signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint investment fund.

Another MoU on media cooperation between Saudi and Chinese media authorities was co-signed by Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Awwad al-Awwad and Chinese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Li Hwa Chin.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Geological Survey signed an MoU to further strengthen cooperation between the two sides in exploring and assessing the sources of uranium and thorium. It was co-signed by Chairman of the Geological Survey Department Zuhair Nawab and General Director of China’s National Nuclear Industry Corporation (CNNC) Chiang Chi Min.

The five-year plan for joint action for the mechanism of enhancing cooperation and mutual commercial visits between the Ministry of Commerce and Investment of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Trade of the Peoples’ Republic of China was co-signed by acting Undersecretary of Foreign Trade Abdulrahman al-Harbi and Deputy Minister of Trade Fotsi Ying.

Chairman of the board of SADCO and Vice President of Saudi Aramco Yasser Mufti, CEO of the Royal Commission for Jubal and Yanbu Alaa Naseef, and chairman of the board of Gwangin for Developing International Investments Company Ltd Chang Lin Chang signed a memorandum on the establishment of Saudi Silk Road company for industrial services to encourage investment in Jazan.

A Memorandum of Understanding was co-signed between China Posts and Saudi Post corporation by Acting President of Saudi Post Osama Altaf and China’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Li Hwa Chin.

An MoU was agreed upon between Petro Rabiah Refinery and Taida company for strategic cooperation on developing and administering industrial areas. It was co-signed by Vice-President of Petro Rabigh Refinery Company for Industrial Relations Bassam Bukhari and the Director General of Taida Company for Industrial Parks Guanchoya Bin.

The signing ceremony was attended by minister of commerce and investment Majed al-Gasbi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan, Counselor at the Secretariat General of the Cabinet Ahmed al-Khateb, Counselor at the Secretariat General of the Cabinet Yasser al-Ramyan, Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Salem, Assistant Minister of Defense Mohammed al-Ayesh, Turki Al-Madhi, Saudi Ambassador to China, and a number of officials.

The official delegation accompanying the Chinese senior official was also present at the event.