On January 24, 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council met with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Wen made positive comments on bilateral relations and appreciated King Abdullah for making China the first visiting destination country since he succeeded to the throne, emphasizing that China attaches great importance to developing bilateral relations and would like to further strengthen mutual political trust, economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges, as well as coordination and cooperation in international affairs, and comprehensively advance bilateral friendly cooperative relations.
With regard to bilateral economic and trade relations, Wen said that Saudi Arabia is China's largest trading partner in Western Asia and North Africa and both countries have kept closer economic and trade ties and enjoyed broad prospect for cooperation. Currently, both countries have entered a period of rapid economic growth and they should grasp tightly this favorable opportunity and give full play to their respect advantages to enhance cooperative level and realize common development. Wen hoped that both sides will continue to expand the scale of mutual investment, and focus on strengthened cooperation in the areas of energy, infrastructure construction and information communications.
When talking about relations with Gulf countries, Wen indicated that the relations between China and Gulf countries have been kept closer with their cooperation in various areas steadily deepened. China would like to make joint efforts with the countries of Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) including Saudi Arabia and push both sides to sign the free trade agreement at the earliest date possible.
Abdullah said that the two peoples share a profound friendship and the Saudi Arabian people highly appreciate China for supporting the righteous cause of Arab people and playing a positive role in international affairs. Bilateral relations enjoy a solid foundation. Through this visit, especially the talks with Chinese leaders, he has gained a profound understanding of China's sincerity in developing bilateral relations. Saudi Arabia would like to make joint efforts with China to consolidate and develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the broad areas of politics, economy and trade.