On May 19, Minister of Commerce of China Wang Wentao and Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih co-chaired the fifth session of the Sub-Committee for Trade, Investment and Technology under the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee via video links. Both sides focused on implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and had in-depth exchanges on deepening bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, industrial chains, and science and technology, as well as safeguarding the multilateral trading system. The two sides adopted a subcommittee minutes document, reaching over 60 cooperative common understandings.

Wang Wentao stated that in recent years, President Xi Jinping has maintained close exchanges with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, jointly leading China-Saudi Arabia relations toward leapfrog development. China's Belt and Road Initiative has deeply aligned with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, further deepening practical cooperation across various fields. The prospects for China-Saudi Arabia economic and trade cooperation are broad. China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to continuously consolidate the scale of oil and gas trade, foster new business formats such as e-commerce, leverage financing platforms to create a favorable investment environment, expand two-way investment, deepen industrial and supply chain cooperation, and stimulate new momentum for cooperation in scientific and technological innovation fields such as artificial intelligence, continuously enriching the connotations of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Wang pointed out that as members of the G20, China and Saudi Arabia should strengthen coordination and cooperation within multilateral and regional frameworks, jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and address global challenges together, injecting certainty into an uncertain global economy.

Falih said that in recent years, cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China in trade, investment, and technology has achieved considerable progress, making positive contributions to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia admires China’s great achievements in economic development and scientific and technological innovation. Saudi Arabia hopes to deepen trade cooperation with China and jointly uphold the multilateral trading system. Saudi Arabia will continue to expand investments in China and attract more Chinese companies to invest and operate in Saudi Arabia. They can take Saudi Arabia as a gateway to the Middle East, Africa, and even global markets, contributing to the stable development of global industrial and supply chains. Saudi Arabia is willing to learn from China's industrial park construction experience and hopes that Chinese enterprises will actively participate in infrastructure construction. The two sides should strengthen cooperation in science and technology fields such as artificial intelligence, seize opportunities in future development areas, and bring tangible benefits to both countries and the world.