Saudi Arabia, China sign investment deals worth $30bn

Saudi Arabia and China have signed 35 investment deals worth about $30 billion during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kingdom.

China’s business links with Saudi Arabia have been significantly boosted thanks to the agreements involving organizations from the two countries.

The agreements cover a range of sectors, including green energy, technology, cloud services, transportation, logistics, medical industries, construction and manufacturing. It also includes a petrochemicals project, housing developments and the teaching of the Chinese language.

The signing of the agreements was overseen by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Xi, said the report.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in the field of hydrogen energy by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, and He Lifeng, Chairman of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission.

Direct investment will be encouraged through an MoU signed by Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, the Kingdom’s Investment Minister, and Wang Wentao, China’s Minister of Commerce.

Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih said President Xi’s visit “will contribute to raising the pace of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries,” offering Chinese companies and investors “rewarding returns.”

One of the deals involved a memorandum of understanding with China’s Huawei Technologies on cloud computing and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities, the government communication office said in a statement.

Another deal, signed between the Saudi Investment Ministry and Shandong Innovation Group, involves the construction of an aluminum plant.