Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded longstanding cultural and economic ties with Saudi Arabia in a written statement released by the Chinese government on the second day of his state visit to Riyadh.
"China and Saudi Arabia have admired each other and conducted friendly exchanges since ancient times. The Prophet Mohammed said, 'Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China,'" he wrote.
Mr Xi said his visit to the kingdom would "usher in a new era" in Chinese-Arab relations.
He highlighted examples more than 2000 years of ties his country has had with Arab states, citing Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, whom Mr Xi said made a pilgrimage to Makkah during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
"He described [it] as a place with beautiful sceneries, mild weather, fertile rice fields, and a happy people," Mr Xi wrote, adding that archaeological discoveries found in Saudi Arabia belonging to China's Song and Yuan dynasties "stand as testaments to all those friendly interactions", between the two nations.
Multibillion-dollar agreements are expected to be signed during the state visit. Mr Xi said China's collaboration with Arab states in building famous monuments such as the Lusail Stadium of Qatar, where major World Cup matches are taking place, the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Djamaa El Djazair Mosque of Algeria "have become landmarks of the China-Arab friendship".
Mr Xi said that co-operation extended to education as well.
"China has set up 20 Confucius institutes and two Confucius classrooms in Arab states. And over 40 Chinese universities teach Arabic as a major, contributing inexhaustible energy for growing China-Arab friendship," he said in the statement.
Bandar bin Ibrahim Al Khorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said non-oil exports to China last year amounted to more than $9.6 billion while exports to the country reached $27.8 billion.
"The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones [Modon] host seven Chinese factories in various fields including plastics, metals, ceramics, concrete and food industries in addition to around 10 other factories under planning and construction," the minister said on Thursday.
Mr Xi said he was "proud" of "good friend" Saudi Arabia for initiatives in green energy, adding that while diplomatic ties between the two nations have always been strong, real progress had been made in the past decade.
"China-Saudi Arabia co-operation has made major headway in the past 10 years," Mr Xi said.
"The two sides respect each other’s sovereignty and development path, respect each other’s history and cultural traditions, support each other in defending national security and stability, and undertake close strategic co-ordination."
Mr Xi will attend the first China-Arab States Summit, meeting GCC leaders in Riyadh.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
