Business & Money | Saturday 3 August, 2019 2:27 am |

Zhu Xinglong, counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Riyadh, said Saudi Arabia and China have established a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Discussing Chinese-Saudi bilateral relations during an interview, he said: “The two countries have set up the China-Saudi Arabia high-level joint committee.”
“The two sides have also enhanced political trust and maintained good momentum in pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy, science, technology, education and culture, and have achieved fruitful results. The complementarity between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi 2030 Vision has great potential,” he said.
Incorporating the Chinese language into the education curriculum in Saudi schools would have a profound influence on China-Saudi relations, he said. “Next year we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Saudi Arabia. Thanks to 30 years of joint effort, the more mature, stable and profound China-Saudi relations will further serve the common interests of the two countries.”
He described how his government is determined to implement the “One Country, Two Systems” policy.
“During the recent demonstrations and violent attacks in Hong Kong, some irresponsible people in Western countries made some irresponsible remarks and played a disgraceful role,” Xinglong said. “I would like to reiterate here that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs should not be interfered with by external forces.”
Xinglong said that Hong Kong was under attack and the violence had been going on for more than a month. “The radical demonstrators have escalated violence. They violently attacked the legislative council, ruined the facilities and smeared the Hong Kong special administrative region emblem; they blocked the liaison office of the central government and defiled the national emblem, which makes the situation even more critical.”
“This has seriously affected the rule of law, social order, economic livelihood and international image of Hong Kong,” he said.
Xinglong said that the Chinese government would continue to support the chief executive, Lin Zhengyue, and the government of the special administrative region, uniting people to safeguard Hong Kong according to the law and to handle the current problems.

Xinglong also discussed China-US relations and trade talks. “History and realism prove that China and US will both benefit from cooperation and will both suffer from conflict. It is normal for both sides to have a disagreement in economic and trade fields, and it is crucial to deal with it properly in the spirit of mutual respect and equality and benefit, and to find a solution that both sides accept.”
During the 12th round of China-US high-level trade talks in Shanghai, Xinglong said that the two sides achieved frank and constructive communication.
Xinglong said that the two sides also discussed China increasing the purchase of American agricultural commodities according to China’s needs, and the US providing good conditions for such a purchase.
The Chinese economy was expanding, with 6.3 percent growth in the first half of 2019, Xinglong said. “China is determined to implement economic structural reform and industrial transforming and upgrading, release the dynamics of the market through reform and innovation, and to maintain the momentum of a stable and positive economy.”
President Xi Jinping had announced at the Osaka G20 summit that China would further carry out measures to open up the Chinese market, he said. “Greater initiative will be demonstrated in expanding imports, more steps will be taken to improve the business environment, equal treatment will be extended to all foreign investment, and greater efforts will be made to advance trade talks to accelerate the opening-up and achievement of high-quality development.”