China, Saudi Arabia sign multibillion-dollar deals

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes visiting Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 16, 2017.  [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Saudi Arabia signed 14 agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoU) on Thursday in such areas as energy, investment, finance, culture and aerospace.

The cooperative documents were signed in Beijing during the state visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz. The king is leading a huge delegation on a four-day visit to China from Wednesday.

Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Ming told reporters after the signing ceremony that the king's visit to China is fruitful.

Among the 14 cooperative documents, one is an MoU on production capacity and investment cooperation, which involves 35 big projects worth $65 billion, Zhang said.

The two countries have also agreed to make joint efforts in fighting terrorism, he added.

President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia in January 2016, during which the two countries lifted their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

China became Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner in 2015 and Saudi Arabia has been China's biggest crude oil supplier and largest trading partner in West Asia for years.