Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Saleh Khabti speaks during an interview at the venue of the seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 25, 2023. Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Saleh Khabti said China has strengths in infrastructure, high-tech and logistics, and the possibilities of the two countries' business cooperation are "unlimited." (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
RIYADH, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Saleh Khabti said China has strengths in infrastructure, high-tech and logistics, and the possibilities of the two countries' business cooperation are "unlimited."
In an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, the Saudi official said the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China in trade and investment has been improving over the years.
"In 2023, we see Saudi investments in China more than doubled, reaching more than 20 billion U.S. dollars. Also, the Chinese are investing in Saudi Arabia," he revealed.
He said Saudi Arabia is open to Chinese investors. "I think China has areas of strength, such as infrastructure, high-tech and logistics," the official noted, adding that companies from the two countries could have a win-win partnership.
"I believed it showed areas of joint interest when a lot of Chinese companies wanted to go out and invest in Saudi Arabia. We plan to bring in more than 3 trillion dollars in capital investments. So, Chinese companies are welcome to invest with Saudi partners with 100 percent ownership. We will help by providing facilities," he said.
Khabti listed the possible cooperation areas as energy, value chains in energy, chemicals, mining, logistics, smelting, refining, and precious metals, adding that the possibilities are "unlimited."
The Saudi minister also shared his memories in China as a student and later as an employee in joint projects.
"The Arab and Chinese people have a lot of similarities. It was a good experience due to the people, culture, language, Chinese food and Chinese friends. It was amazing," he noted, speaking of his visits to China.
He studied the Chinese language and chemical engineering at Xiamen University from 1998 to 2005. Then, he visited China from 2015 to 2021 to oversee Saudi Aramco's joint ventures in China as a development and administration official.
Khabti said he traveled to many other Chinese cities during his stay and saw the country's vast transformation. "I closely witnessed the transformation from 1998 to 2021; Improvement happened every two to three months. The maturity of the business landscape improves every year," he said. ■
Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Saleh Khabti speaks during an interview at the venue of the seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 25, 2023. Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Saleh Khabti said China has strengths in infrastructure, high-tech and logistics, and the possibilities of the two countries' business cooperation are "unlimited." (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
