Your Excellency the Secretary Xu Qin,

Your Excellency the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Investment Sarah Al-Sayed,

Vice Chairman of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council Dr. Anas Alfadda

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good day!

It’s a great pleasure to attend today’s Seminar. First, on behalf of the Embassy, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Secretary Xu Qin and his delegates for their visit to Saudi Arabia. I also want to send our sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Investment, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture，the General Authority for Foreign Trade, the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, and all the friends who have long supported China-Saudi Arabia economic and trade cooperation.

In recent years, under the visionary leadership of the leaders of both countries, the China-Saudi Arabia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has deepened and solidified. The Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030 have been closely aligned, yielding substantial outcomes across a wide range of fields such as trade, technology, culture, sports, and education.Annual bilateral trade volume has exceeded 100 billion U.S.dollars for 3 consecutive years, with Chinese investment in Saudi Arabia growing by 36% in 2024. The expanding cultural and people-to-people exchanges, rapid growth in trade and investment, and close collaboration under regional and multilateral frameworks have significantly boosted confidence of the business and trade communities of both countries to deepen and expand pragmatic cooperation.

Recently,the United States has waged tariff and trade wars worldwide, which is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying. Thisseverely infringesupon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, severely violates World Trade Organization rules, and severely disrupts the global economic order.There are no winners in trade or tariff wars. China has taken resolute countermeasures, not only to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, but also to uphold international rules and order, and to protect the common interests of the international community, especially the right to development of Global South countries. For years, China has actively expanded economic and trade relations with countries worldwide, becoming a major trading partner for over 150 countries and regions. No matter how the international situationchanges, China will continue to actively advance high-standard openingup, enhancing collaboration with Saudi Arabia as well as fellow GCC members and Arab states, expanding broader market access and development opportunities, and thus to bring stability and certainty to the volatile global economy. 

Heilongjiang Province, located in the northernmost and easternmost part of China, boasts abundant ecological and tourism resources. It serves as China’s major breadbasket region and technical equipment manufacturing base, tasked with the critical mission of the Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China.In February this year, the 9th Asian Winter Games were successfully held in Harbin, and The 10th will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2029. Since 2014, over 400 outstanding Saudi students have studied at Harbin Institute of Technology. Videos of Saudi tourists exploring Harbin’s Central Street have gone viral on Chinese social media. Companies like Harbin Electric Corporation and Daqing Exploratory Drilling have actively contributed to Saudi Arabia’s economic development.

2025 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of China-Saudi Arabia diplomatic relations and the China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture. The Heilongjiang delegation’s visit not only strengthen the bond of friendship fostered during the Asian Winter Games, promoting exchanges in sports, culture, and tourism, but also opens new chapters of cooperation, enhancing mutual understanding and creatingopportunitiesfor cooperation in high-tech industries, smart agriculture, green economy, digital industries, and beyond.

Saudi Arabia is accelerating the realization of Vision 2030, bringing about a surge in market demand. I hope entrepreneurs from Heilongjiang seize the opportunities, and work closely with Saudi partners to expand your business in Saudi Arabia.

In the end, I wish this conference a great success.

Thank you!