On October 2, 2025, the Saudi magazine Al-Yamamah published a special issue on China to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Chang Hua published a signed article titled “Inheriting Friendship and Common Development”. The full text is as follows:
October 1 this year marks the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and this year also marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On behalf of the Embassy of China in Saudi Arabia, I would like to express sincere appreciation to friends from various sectors who have continuously cared about China’s development and contributed to the friendship between the two nations! September 23 this year also marks the 95th National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I would like to take this opportunity to extend sincere congratulations and best wishes to the distinguished leadership and the people of Saudi Arabia!
This year marks the closing year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, while the march of Chinese modernization continues steadily and swiftly. We have achieved new progress in high-quality development: in the first half of this year, China’s GDP exceeded 66 trillion RMB, growing by 5.3% year-on-year. New quality productive forces have made breakthroughs— “DeepSeek” has emerged as a global sensation, the development of “China chips” is accelerating, and industries such as robotics and artificial intelligence are flourishing. New measures for high-level opening-up have been introduced— removal of all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, zero-tariff treatment for products from the least developed countries, and continuous expansion of unilateral visa-free policy. “China Travel” and “China Shopping” are gaining momentum. China contributes approximately 30% to global economic growth, serving as the world’s most stable and reliable engine. With the resilience of its super-large market and the supporting power of a complete industrial system, China has created an economic miracle where “the larger the scale, the more stable the growth,” providing a new path for the development and revitalization of Global South countries.
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. China has held a series of commemorative activities under the theme of “Remember History, Honor Fallen Heroes, Cherish Peace, and Create a Better Future”. President Xi Jinping emphasized that the Chinese people, with huge national sacrifice, made major contributions to saving human civilization and safeguarding world peace. History cautions us that humanity rises and falls together. Only when all countries and nations treat each other as equals, coexist in peace and support each other, can we uphold common security and prevent the recurrence of historical tragedies. Today, humanity again has to choose between peace and war, dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum game. The Chinese people firmly stand on the right side of history and the progress of human civilization. Chinese people will remain committed to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with all peoples around the world in building a community with a shared future for humanity.
At the recent “SCO Plus” Meeting held in Tianjin in early September, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), whose core principles include adhering to sovereignty equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions. This initiative is another important public good offered by China to the world, following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. Together, these four global initiatives address key dimensions of global challenges, injecting stability and predictability into an unstable world, and demonstrating China’s responsibility and role in international affairs. China will uphold the global governance vision of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, and work with other countries to implement the GGI, promoting a more just and equitable global governance system.
This year also marks the 35th anniversary of Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Saudi Arabia. Over the past 35 years, under the strategic guidance and personal care and effort of our leaders, China-Saudi relations have advanced rapidly and achieved remarkable results. Political mutual trust continues to deepen, and exchanges at all levels are becoming increasingly close. Practical cooperation has yielded rich fruits: the Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030 are deeply aligned; bilateral trade has exceeded $100 billion for three consecutive years; cooperation in petrochemicals, energy, infrastructure, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and green development shines brightly. People-to-people exchanges are thriving: Chinese language education in Saudi Arabia is gaining popularity, and China’s unilateral visa-free policy for Saudi citizens has been widely praised. This year is also the first “China-Saudi Cultural Year”, during which over 40 events have already been held in culture, art, education, film areas, and so on. More exciting activities lie ahead, further deepening cultural mutual learning and people-to-people connectivity.
Instability in the Middle East makes global peace difficult. The Gaza conflict has now dragged on for nearly two years, causing a humanitarian catastrophe that is shocking and unprecedented. The Chinese side firmly opposes Israel escalating its military operations in Gaza and strongly condemns the Israel’s attack in Doha, Qatar. The Chinese side urges Israel to listen to the strong concerns voiced by the international community, stop its military operations in Gaza at once, realize a full and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible, and avoid an even larger humanitarian crisis. The spillover effects of the Gaza conflict have intensified this year, rooted in the long-unsolved Palestinian issue. Force cannot bring peace to the Middle East, dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental path forward. China’s position on the Palestinian question remains consistent: we firmly stand with the Palestinian people and with justice and morality. We commend Saudi Arabia’s important role and contributions on the Palestinian question, we agreed to join the New York Declaration and support the high-level conference on the implementation of the two-State solution. China stands ready to continue working with Saudi Arabia and all peace-loving forces around the world to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question.
In December 2022, President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh at the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to attend the first China-Arab States Summit, the first China-GCC Summit, and conduct a state visit to Saudi Arabia, achieving fruitful outcomes. Next year, China will host the second China-Arab States Summit and the second China-GCC Summit. We are confident that the two summits will lead China-Arab relations into a new era of deeper and more comprehensive development, reflecting the strategic choice of enhanced unity and cooperation between China and Arab states in the face of the new global challenges, and writing a brand-new chapter in our relationship.
The Communist Party of China will convene the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee to deliberate on the 15th Five-Year Plan. Under the leadership of the CPC, Chinese modernization will steadily advance, offering increasing opportunities for win-win cooperation between China and the world. China-Saudi cooperation will open even broader prospects. China stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to implement the important consensus reached by our leaders, taking the 35th anniversary as a new starting point to deepen strategic alignment, expand practical cooperation, strengthen cultural dialogue, jointly promote the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, and contribute strength and wisdom to building a community with a shared future for humanity.