The Foreign Minister of China has recently requested the GCC region to finalize the talks with China on a free trade agreement, as the negotiation on the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement has taken a span more than 20 years, and conditions in all aspects are ready.
During a meeting on Sunday with the GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi in Riyadh, he said that “It is time to make a final decision.”
Minister Wang Yi is currently on a three-nation visit to the Middle East, starting with the UAE, and is supposed to end in Jordan.
“Currently, protectionism is on the rise, unilateralism is rampant, and free trade is under attack. Under these circumstances, the conclusion of the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement will send a strong signal to the world in upholding multilateralism,” he added.
On his part, Albudaiwi mentioned that the GCC countries are in a deep friendship with China, and China has always been an effective and trustworthy strategic partner and the relations between the GCC countries are at a high level of functional operation.
He stated that the effective first-ever China-GCC Summit, which was hosted by President Xi Jinping and leaders of the GCC countries in Saudi Arabia in 2022, was a big step.
GCC is ready to collaborate with China to vigorously enforce the significant agreement of the leaders of both parties, accumulate political mutual trust, strengthen exchanges and dialogue, amplify cooperation in the areas of energy, innovations, and other opportunities within the Belt and Road Initiative, and intensify the people-to-people exchanges to generate a win-win outcome.
Regarding the free trade agreement with China, Albudaiwi said that GCC would like to agree on the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible and is eager to see the second China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit in China next year, and is willing to enhance communication with China to facilitate more success during the summits.
In his Middle East visit, the Foreign Minister of China held an interview with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who stated that Saudi Arabia was dedicated to collaborating with China to take the bilateral relations to the next level.
The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud said that “China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner, with two-way investment increasing year by year. Saudi Arabia is willing to further deepen cooperation with China in areas such as oil and gas, new energy, artificial intelligence, and high technology, bringing more benefits to the people of both countries.”
Continuing on the significance of the free trade agreement, the Foreign Minister of China informed the Saudi Crown Prince that “China is willing to work with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to strive for the early conclusion of a China-GCC Free Trade Agreement. China is also willing to continue to maintain close communication with Saudi Arabia to inject more stability into the Middle East region.”
In a separate meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries, the two parties signed the “Agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the Mutual Exemption of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic, Official and Special Passports.”
