Saudi Arabia signs 15 deals with China

DUBAI — Saudi Arabia has signed 15 preliminary agreements with China in sectors from energy to housing on a trip headed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is also the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence, aimed at bolstering relations with a top energy customer and trade partner.

The visit is part of a broad reform drive championed by the prince to cut the kingdom’s reliance on oil exports and showcase Saudi Arabia as a dynamic nation with diverse opportunities for global investors.

Prince Mohammed met China’s vice-premier Zhang Gaoli on Tuesday, state news agency SPA reported. “During the meeting, the strategic relationships and future opportunities to enhance the existing partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China were reviewed,” SPA said.

Fifteen memorandums of understanding (MoU) were later signed between the two nations in fields including oil storage, water resources, cooperation on science and technology and cultural cooperation, SPA said.

Among the MoUs was a plan for the two countries to cooperate in building 100,000 homes in the Asfar suburb of the eastern Saudi city of Al Ahsa.

Saudi Arabia’s housing ministry signed similar memorandums with South Korea and a Saudi-South Korean consortium in March to develop 100,000 housing units in northern Riyadh over 10 years.

In April, Prince Mohammed launched radical economic reforms designed to develop non-oil industries in Saudi Arabia and attract billions of dollars of foreign investment. Chinese and Japanese banks and companies are expected to play major roles.

Prince Mohammed arrived in China on Monday for talks on economic ties as well as security issues. He will then visit Japan from August 31 to September 3, meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

From Japan, the prince will return to China to chair Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the September 4-5 summit of leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

A Saudi source said Prince Mohammed would present to the G20 his economic reform plan, which envisages state spending of around SR270 billion ($72 billion) in the next five years on projects to diversify the economy.

Saudi Arabia has traditionally accounted for most of Asia’s crude imports, but has lost ground in a number of major markets.