JEDDAH: The Chinese Consulate in Jeddah celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Sept. 24, a day after Saudi National Day. Chinese Consul General Tan Banglin congratulated the people of China, as well as Saudi citizens and expats in the Kingdom on their celebrations, while stressing the importance of strengthening relations between the two countries. “We are glad to witness that in the recent years, under the care and guidance of the leaders of our two countries, with the mutual political trust between the two sides deepening, with common core interests and major concerns supported, China and Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive strategic partnership is developing rapidly,” the consul general said in his opening speech. The two countries shared a trade volume of $63.3 billion in 2018, while today Saudi Arabia is China’s largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa. Tan said that in the face of global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, terrorism, extremism and development imbalance, China is working to encourage coexistence and harmony between countries. “Beijing is willing to share development experience with friends from all over the world, to build a community of human destiny hand in hand,” he said. China is a leading nation in patent applications and authorizations, high-speed railway development, mobile payment, 5G communication and artificial intelligence, he said. Fireworks and a huge military parade will be held in Beijing to mark China’s official National Day celebrations on Oct. 1.