On August 18, 2024, Shenzhen Stock Exchange held the “Access to China” New Horizons In A-Share Investment event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment, H.E. Ms. Sara Al-Sayed, Chairman of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Ms. Sha Yan, CICC Chairman Mr. Chen Liang, and more than 100 officials and representatives from relevant financial regulatory departments and companies attended the event. Ambassador Chang Hua was invited to attend and deliver a speech. The full text is as follows:
Dear Deputy Minister H.E. Ms. Sara Al-Sayed, Chairman Ms. Sha Yan, Chairman Mr. Chen Liang:
Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Good morning! I am very glad to attend this A-Share investment event. On behalf of the Embassy of China in the Saudi Arabia, I would like to congratulate the holding of this event!
China and Saudi Arabia are comprehensive strategic partners. In recent years, under the joint concern and guidance of the leaders of the two countries, exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia and cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields has been continuously deepened, bilateral relations have embarked on a fast lane of growth, and the alignment of joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative and the “2030 Vision” has been continuously promoted. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner in the world, and Saudi Arabia is China's largest trading partner among Arab countries. In 2023, the bilateral trade volume between China and Saudi Arabia reached $107.2billion. Saudi Arabia is China's most important engineering contracting market in the Middle East. Two-way investment cooperation has grown steadily, and the two sides have made remarkable achievements in practical cooperation.
On July 18, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization”, which not only drew a new grand blueprint for Chinese modernization construction, but also provided new opportunities for world development. China firmly promotes high-level and institutional opening-up, deepens economic integration with other countries, and works together to build the world's largest international cooperation platform and pave the way for common prosperity. As important members of the "Global South", China and Saudi Arabia are both important forces in maintaining world peace and stability. The two sides have complementary development advantages and broad prospects for cooperation. I firmly believe that China and Saudi Arabia will make greater contributions to the peace and development of the two countries and the world by moving forward side by side on the road to national rejuvenation and modernization.
Cooperation in the capital markets between China and Saudi Arabia is an important part of the economic cooperation between the two countries. The bilateral local currency swap agreement signed by the central banks of the two countries and the successful listing of Saudi ETF in China are both vivid examples shows the huge potential of China-Saudi cooperation. This A-Share investment event is a joint effort of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, financial regulatory authorities, market institutions and high-quality A-share listed companies to show the open attitude and development potential of China's capital market to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. We hope that through this event, more Saudi investors will get to know China's A-share market and listed companies, as well as seize the opportunity to invest in China.
Finally, I hope that all guests can make full use of this platform to carry out in-depth exchanges, achieve deeper connections with China's capital market and reach more consensus on cooperation.
I wish this event a complete success!
Thank you all!