RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman held wide-ranging talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Thursday. Their talks were held in the presence of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. During the meeting, King Salman and President Xi signed the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Saudi Arabia and China. At the outset of their meeting, the King welcomed President Xi and his accompanying delegation to Saudi Arabia. The Chinese president expressed his happiness over visiting Saudi Arabia. The two leaders reviewed the historical friendship between Saudi Arabia and China and ways to further enhance them to serve the interests of the two friendly countries and peoples in various fields. The reception was attended by Saudi Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and National Security Adviser Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Director of the General Office of CPC Ding Xuexiang. Xi arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday on a three-day official visit. During the visit, he is attending two summits apart from the Chinese Saudi summit. They are Riyadh Gulf-China Summit for Cooperation and Development; and Riyadh Arab-China Summit for Cooperation and Development. This was the second visit of President Xi to Saudi Arabia in six years. The Chinese leader's first meeting with the King was in 2016 in Riyadh. This was followed by King Salman's visit to China in March 2017.
