BEIJING: China will support Saudi Arabia's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and realize greater development, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in his phone conversation with the ruler. Xi reiterated that China's determination to deepen strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia will not waver, no matter how the international and regional situation alters. China is also willing to work with Saudi Arabia to deepen strategic cooperation, advance the strategic integration of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, and conduct cooperation in a variety of areas through the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee, Xi said. The Belt and Road Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by Xi in 2013 to build a trade, investment and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Congratulating Xi on the successful conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and his re-election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, King Salman said he believed the congress would guide the Chinese people to greater achievements. Xi appreciated the congratulatory call and said the party congress was a landmark in China's development, determining its guiding ideology and making strategic deployment for China's modernization. "We are confident of leading the Chinese people toward the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Xi said. Remarking on the importance of maintaining close communication between the two countries' heads of state, Xi said China and Saudi Arabia were comprehensive strategic partners with deepening strategic mutual trust and win-win cooperation.
