2016年CRI Saudi Arabians Looking Forward to Xi's Visit

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Ties between China and Saudi Arabia can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty, with famed Chinese Admiral Zhang He, himself a Muslim, dispatching sailors to Mecca and Medina as part of his voyages in the 15th century.

However, modern diplomatic ties between the two countries only date to 1990.

Still, many among Saudi Arabia's older generations seem to have a fairly good understanding of China's history.

"I know of China's brilliant old culture, and its language is even older. And the Great Wall, there's a saying that 'if you haven't been to the Great Wall, you haven't been in China'. That's a statement the Chinese always say, right?"

But for the younger generation in Saudi Arabia, talk of China these days seems directed more toward the future.

"If you want to talk about the old China, we can say manufacturing. But when you talk about these years, we're talking more about technology and innovation. I mean, China isn't only a manufacturer anymore, China has many companies that have research and development centers,"

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1990, ties between the two countries have increased significantly.

While oil is undoubtedly¹ the 'tie that binds³' both countries, the level of bilateral⁴ cooperation does go well beyond that.

When the Sichuan earthquake hit in 2008, Saudi Arabia provided China close to 50-million euros worth of assistance, by far the largest international donation.

Every year, more and more people from Saudi Arabia arrive in China to do business or study.

An increasing number of Chinese students are also heading into Saudi Arabia every year.

Abdurahman Bin² Ali Al Jeraisy, President of Saudi-China Friendship Association, says he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the Kingdom this week will only help increase ties.

"There's no doubt President Xi Jinping's visit is very important to us. The invitation made by the Saudi King suggests that China is important to Saudi Arabia and his visit also shows that Saudi Arabia is also important to China. The visit is certainly expected to expand exchanges between the two countries and two peoples."

Xi Jinping's trip to Saudi Arabia this week coincides with the 10th anniversary of the late-King Abdullah's visit to China in January of 2006, the first Saudi head-of-state to visit China.

While the Chinese President's agenda for his meetings in Riyadh has not been detailed⁵, its expected economic ties are likely to be high on the list.

Bilateral trade between the two sides hit over 60-billion US dollars in 2014.

For CRI, this is Qizhi.