Background: Cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia

Source: CCTV.com | 06-22-2008 08:50

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is situated on the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Persian Gulf in the east and the Red Sea in the west. The country borders Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has a total landmass of 2.25 million square kilometers, with a population of more than 22 million. It has 13 provinces. Riyadh is the capital.

The Kingdom is the cradle of Islam. Mecca, where Prophet Mohammed was born, is Islam's first holy site. Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world make a pilgrimage there.

Saudi Arabia is a leading producer of oil and natural gas. It holds more than 20 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.

China forged diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia in 1990. Bilateral relations since then have developed steadily, with regular exchanges at various levels. And the areas of bilateral cooperation have expanded.

In January 2006, the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, visited China -- the first visit of a Saudi king to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Three months later, Chinese President, Hu Jintao, paid a reciprocal visit to Saudi Arabia. Both sides reached consensus on pushing forward the development of bilateral strategic friendship and cooperation.

Sino-Saudi trade and energy cooperation has also developed rapidly.

The bilateral trade volume hit more than 20 billion US dollars in 2006, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent. And in the first half of 2007, the volume reached almost 11 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of over 13 percent.

Editor:Xiong Qu