China, Saudi Arabia vow to oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs

RIYADH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday agreed to oppose any interference in the internal affairs of other countries and defend the interests of the developing countries.

During the meeting, Wang, also a Chinese state councilor, first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the crown prince.

He said that advancing its ties with Saudi Arabia, an important strategic partner of China in the Middle East, is a priority for China's Middle East policies.

China supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, national dignity, security and stability, and opposes interference in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs under any pretext, said the Chinese diplomat.

China staunchly supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to explore and find a path of development that fits its own conditions, said Wang, adding that China is ready to better integrate the development strategies between the two countries to help Saudi Arabia attain the goals of Vision 2030.

He also expressed China's strong support to Saudi Arabia for playing a greater role in the region, while pledging to work together with the Saudi side to promote peace, stability, and development in the Middle East.

China appreciates Saudi Arabia's firm support for China on the issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said the Chinese foreign minister.

He underlined the need for the two countries to strengthen unity and coordination to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on the international law, oppose any interference in the internal affairs of other countries, reject unilateral bullying actions, and defend the common interests of the developing countries.

The Chinese diplomat said the two sides can give full play to the role of the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee, which should take the lead in deepening bilateral cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment and infrastructure, as well as in the emerging fields including artificial intelligence, 5G, big data and aerospace technologies.

The two countries should also step up cooperation and exchanges in countering terrorism and eliminating extremism, Wang said.

China is willing to work together with Saudi Arabia to speed up the free trade deal negotiations between China and the Gulf countries to reach an agreement at an early date, said the Chinese diplomat.

Wang also said China and Saudi Arabia should jointly make good preparations for the upcoming China-Arab Summit and build a China-Arab community with a shared future.

For his part, Mohammed first asked Wang to convey the greetings of King Salman and himself to the Chinese president.

China, with a long history, is a world power with significant influence and its revival is inevitable, said the crown prince, adding that the rise of China is conducive to global peace, stability and prosperity, as well as a more balanced global development.

Saudi Arabia, which attaches great importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, is willing to continuously deepen the bilateral cooperation in crude oil, petrochemical, nuclear energy and other energy fields, and expand it into new fields such as 5G, telecommunication and digital technologies, Mohammed said.

The two countries will also boost anti-terrorism and security cooperation to uplift the bilateral ties to a higher level, he said.

Saudi Arabia is willing to make joint efforts with China to push forward the free trade negotiations between China and Gulf countries in order to clinch a deal sooner, said the crown prince.

Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia firmly supports China's legitimate position on the issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, opposes interfering in China's internal affairs under any pretext, and rejects the attempt by certain parties to sow dissension between China and the Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia is ready to join hands with China to uphold the goals and principles of the UN Charter, and safeguard regional and global peace and stability, he added.

Wang also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf on the same day.