China, Saudi Arabia reaffirm friendship, anti-pandemic and multilateral cooperation

TASHKENT, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral ties and multilateral cooperation while meeting here Thursday.

Wang said that China attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia and is willing to be a long-term reliable and stable friend to Saudi Arabia.

He thanked Saudi Arabia for its understanding and support for China on issues concerning China's core interests.

China also firmly supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and dignity, and opposes external forces pointing fingers at Saudi Arabia under the banner of human rights and democracy and interfering in Saudi internal affairs, Wang said.

China will continue to provide assistance to Saudi Arabia in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, support Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, Green Saudi Arabia and Green Middle East initiatives, strengthen cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia in such fields as energy, investment and finance, and help with Saudi Arabia's diversified economic development, Wang said, adding that China is willing to work closely with Saudi Arabia to ensure the smooth convening and success of the China-Arab Summit.

Wang said that the evolution of the situation in Afghanistan once again showed that no attempt to intervene by external force has been successful, and no attempt to impose one's own system model on other countries is achievable.

Noting that the Afghan issue should be resolved by the Afghan people themselves, he said China has never interfered in Afghanistan's internal affairs and is ready to play a constructive role in Afghanistan's reconciliation and reconstruction.

The Chinese foreign minister said he believes that Saudi Arabia, as an important force in the Muslim world, can also make positive contributions to the political settlement of the Afghan issue.

China understands Saudi Arabia's concerns about regional security and is willing to stay in communication with Saudi Arabia on this issue, Wang said.

China is ready to make joint efforts with Saudi Arabia to encourage emerging market countries to play their due role in global governance and promote democracy in international relations and the process of world multi-polarization.

Faisal said that China is a strong partner of Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia will firmly support China on issues concerning China's sovereignty and is willing to be China's eternal friend.

Saudi Arabia is grateful to China for providing vaccines and hopes to continue to promote vaccine cooperation with China, he said.

Noting that China's role in the Middle East is constantly on the rise, Faisal said that Saudi Arabia will work with China to make preparations for the Arab-China summit and build a bridge of communication between China and Middle Eastern countries.

Saudi Arabia hopes to strengthen communication and coordination with China on Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues, expand cooperation in multilateral fields, and safeguard the international architecture with the United Nations at the core, he said.