More Saudi investment encouraged

Premier Li Qiang (center) poses for a group photo with representatives of the Saudi business community and Chinese officials on Wednesday before a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY)

China's development will provide a broader market and more investment opportunities for enterprises from Saudi Arabia and other countries, amid a sluggish global economic recovery and growing uncertainties around the world in relation to economic and trade cooperation, Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday.

Li arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday for the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee and an official visit to Saudi Arabia. He is also scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday with representatives from the Saudi business community, Li said that China welcomes more companies from the country to visit and explore opportunities in China in order to better share in its development dividends.

As the country is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development, China will continue to unleash its vast potential in terms of domestic demand as an ultra-large-scale market with more than 1.4 billion people, he said.

China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, and Saudi Arabia is China's largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa, with bilateral trade exceeding $100 billion for two consecutive years.

Noting that China and Saudi Arabia enjoy a stable political relationship and strong momentum in economic and trade cooperation, Li said it is hoped that Saudi enterprises will deepen their involvement in the Chinese market, and invest in and expand their businesses in China with greater confidence.

As the country is transforming traditional industries with digital technologies to make them smarter and more eco-friendly, the premier said more new economic growth points and high-growth enterprises will be fostered in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and biomedicine.

He called on Saudi companies to expand and strengthen cooperation with their Chinese counterparts in traditional fields such as oil and gas, petrochemicals and infrastructure, while promoting cooperation in emerging and future-oriented industries.

Li also reiterated the Chinese government's commitment to building a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

China will further ease market access, implement measures to lift restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and accelerate the opening-up of telecommunications and other services sectors, he said, assuring better services and guarantees for foreign enterprises to continue flourishing in China.

The representatives from the Saudi business community expressed an optimistic outlook regarding the Chinese economy, saying that they are willing to seize the opportunities and keep investing in China.

They said they will further leverage the two countries' complementary advantages, innovate cooperation models and deepen cooperation in areas such as energy, new energy, finance and electric vehicles.

On Wednesday, the Chinese premier also held talks with Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.

Li spoke highly of the GCC's contribution to promoting regional integration and facilitating regional peace, stability and development, saying that China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with GCC countries to further deepen cooperation for mutual benefits.

Noting that China and GCC countries are natural partners, with their economies being highly complementary, Li called on the two sides to strengthen the alignment of their development strategies and speed up negotiations on free trade agreement.