Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah opened today, Sunday, the tenth session of the Arab-Chinese Business Conference 2023 in Riyadh under the slogan "Cooperation for Prosperity." The conference highlights "how to achieve common alignment, exchange experiences, and launch new opportunities for growth and investment, which can lead to prosperity and progress for the peoples of the region and the world."
The Foreign Minister affirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to enhancing collaboration to yield results that reflect the deep and advanced partnership across all vital investment sectors between Arab countries and the People's Republic of China, considering China the largest trade partner for Arab countries with $430 billion in trade volume. He noted that "the conference is an opportunity to strengthen and institutionalize the historical Arab-Chinese friendship and work towards building a shared future in a new era that brings benefits to the peoples and maintains peace and development worldwide."
On his part, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih stated, "We will work with China to seize available investment opportunities, and we seek sustainable partnerships for a better future." He noted that relations between Riyadh and Beijing have grown closely "as we are the largest economy in the Middle East and the fastest-growing in the world over the past year," while emphasizing Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving as a bridge connecting the Arab world with China.
The minister expressed hope to increase the share of the Arab world in Chinese foreign direct investment, saying, "It is time for China to be a main investment partner in the developmental journey taking place in the Arab region."
In a video statement, Al-Falih mentioned their aim to launch a "Modern Silk Road" between China and the Arabs.
For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit indicated that Saudi Arabia is leading joint efforts between Arabs and China, noting that Arab-Chinese cooperation will contribute to attracting investments to the region. He affirmed that investment opportunities in the Arab region are "numerous and promising," but he added that they have remained a weak magnet for incoming foreign capital compared to other geographic areas due to events and crises experienced.
The Secretary-General pointed out that recent times have seen progress towards achieving a "Common Arab Market," which will help increase the flow of foreign direct investments. He added, "We are working on a draft agreement for investing capital in Arab countries in partnership with a global international institution."
Aboul Gheit observed that Saudi Arabia's hosting of the conference "comes as a continuation of the successful hosting of the first Arab-Chinese summit at the end of last year in Riyadh, which provided a new impetus for Arab-Chinese cooperation in all political, economic, and scientific fields." He believed that "this session gains increasing importance, especially given the current international situation marked by negative events leading to a slowdown in the global economy."
Furthermore, Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua confirmed that Beijing is ready to cooperate with Arab countries in the fields of energy and infrastructure. He added, "We welcome Arab companies to increase investment in China and support Chinese companies to invest in the Arab market," expressing hope that the Arab region would provide a "fair and open" business environment for Chinese investors.
