27 | July | 2009 | The Gulf blog

China increases ties with Saudi Arabia 27, July 2009

Posted by thegulfblog.com in China and the ME, Saudi Arabia, The Gulf.
Tags: China, Increased ties, Saudi Arabia
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A Chinese company has been selected to build 200 new schools in Saudi Arabia that when completed will accommodate 153,000 students.
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Relations between China – the world’s second largest oil importer, and Saudi Arabia – the worlds top oil producer, are concentrated mainly on energy cooperation but China hopes to be able to increase bilateral trade from an estimated $15 billion in 2005 to $20 billion in 2010.
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Since 2001 China has signed some 3,000 contracts totaling $2.7 billion with the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which includes Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
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In 2004 an agreement on Economic, Trade, Investment, and Technological Cooperation was signed between China and the GCC and negotiations for a China-GCC free trade zone were initiated.
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Meanwhile, the Chinese broadcasting company China Central TV on Saturday night launched an Arabic language channel for the Middle East and Africa as part of the government’s plans to improve its relations with the Arab and Muslim World. The channel is China Central’s fourth foreign language channel after English, French and Spanish.

Hat Tip: The Media Line