A Chinese electric power giant and a Saudi power company on Wednesday announced an alliance to work together on power and desalination projects around the world. The alliance was announced as Chinese President Hu Jintao toured a Saudi Arabian cement factory here and listened to an update on the expansion of the factory, constructed by a Chinese company. Hu arrived in the Kingdom on Tuesday on a visit aimed at strengthening energy cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and China's main oil supplier. Shanghai Electric Power Generation Group (SECPG) and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power International said in a press conference that they already have two projects to cooperate on, one in Saudi Arabia and the other in a nearby Gulf country. ACWA is a specialist in building both power stations and desalination plants in Saudi Arabia, while the SECPG, a division of Shanghai Electric, manufactures power generation equipment. “The agreement to cooperate with the Chinese is to take advantage of their considerable expertise in the implementation of water desalination and electric power generation projects,” said ACWA chief executive Mohammed Abunayyan. He added that SECPG could bring huge savings and advanced technology to such projects, which normally cost in the billions of dollars. Leaders of Saudi Arabia and China Tuesday night attended the signing of several agreements, including cooperation in the fields of oil, gas, mining, health and culture. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding for a $1.7 billion monorail project that will link the holy sites of Makkah and Madina. The project will be implemented in two years and comprises four elevated tracks intended to carry up to 20,000 passengers an hour. The two sides also signed an agreement covering cooperation in developing and trade in oil, natural gas, petrochemicals and minerals late Tuesday as China seeks to secure long-term natural resource supplies for its giant economic machine, Saudi Press Agency said. China is already one of the top buyers of oil from Saudi Arabia, importing 36 million tons of Saudi crude in 2008, according to Chinese figures. Chinese firms are also exploring for new oil deposits inside Saudi Arabia together with Saudi Aramco. Hu is on the second day of a three-day visit to to shore up economic relations and discuss energy supplies with the world's top oil exporter. Hu's first trip to the kingdom came in 2006. The two countries signed defense, security and trade agreements during that visit.
