Riyadh, December 07, 2022, SPA -- Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, stressed that relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People’s Republic of China are witnessing a qualitative leap, reflecting the interests and keenness of both countries’ leaderships to develop them at all levels. In remarks to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on the occasion of the Saudi-Chinese Summit in Riyadh, Prince Abdulaziz noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has strong and close strategic relations with China in many fields, the most important of which is energy, indicating that China has become the top destination for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports as part of the high volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which continued annual growth over the past five years, noting that Saudi-Chinese energy relations include multiple joint investments. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stated that the two sides are keen to promote cooperation in energy fields, stressing the importance of continuously exchanging views between the two countries, for their being among the world's most important energy-producing and energy-consuming countries. He also went over the impact of cooperation between the two countries in maintaining the stability of the global oil market and their continuous endeavors to maintain effective communication and enhance collaboration to face future challenges, reiterating that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will remain China’s credible and reliable partner in this field. The minister also reviewed areas of cooperation between the two sides, mainly through projects to convert crude oil into petrochemicals, renewable energy, clean hydrogen, electricity projects and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, citing collaboration and joint investments in countries included by China's Belt and Road Initiative, as well as investment in integrated refining and petrochemical complexes in both countries, and the two nations’ endeavors to boost cooperation in energy supply chains via establishing a regional center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Chinese factories to take advantage of the Kingdom's distinguished location between three continents. --SPA 18:14 LOCAL TIME 15:14 GMT 0020 www.spa.gov.sa/w1823390