Hu Huiyin and Li Zhen, reporters of the 21st Century Business Herald, reported that "Nowadays, Chinese is not only the language used by Chinese, but also one of the favorite languages of people around the world. It is expected that within the next decade, the next generation in Saudi Arabia will be able to speak Chinese proficiently. A few days ago, Saudi Arabia's Consul General in Guangzhou Abdullah bin Obiyer (hereinafter referred to as "Obiyer") said in an exclusive interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the relationship between China and Saudi Arabia is becoming closer and closer.
In fact, Obier's prediction is just around the corner. Since the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia has developed by leaps and bounds, with Saudi Arabia becoming China's largest trading partner in West Asia and China becoming Saudi Arabia's largest trading country for seven consecutive years. This year, Saudi Arabia will add Chinese classes to 746 schools in primary and secondary schools across the country.
Especially under the global COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia has become closer, and bilateral trade and anti-epidemic cooperation have shown strong resilience and vigorous vitality. In the first half of 2021, bilateral trade between China and Saudi Arabia amounted to US$40.1 billion, an increase of 21.4% year-on-year. In the early stage of the epidemic, Saudi Arabia immediately adopted the method of cooperating with China and learning from China's successful experience, and effectively controlled the epidemic.
Obier said that the ultimate goal of China's "Belt and Road" initiative and Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision" is to achieve a happy life for the two peoples, and the starting points and purposes of the two policies are in line. "The complementarity between China and Saudi Arabia can provide more development opportunities for other countries in the world, such as in investment, industry, commercial trade, energy and even science and technology, which will further improve the investment environment between China and Saudi Arabia."
The Belt and Road Initiative is highly aligned with Vision 2030
21st Century: In recent years, China and Saudi Arabia have continued to strengthen the in-depth docking of the "Belt and Road" initiative and Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030". How can the Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030 complement and complement each other? What opportunities does this bring to companies in both countries?
Obier: Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and China's Belt and Road Initiative complement each other well in the areas of economic and people-to-people cooperation. Because the goals pursued by the two and the missions they shoulder are basically the same.
Vision 2030 and the Belt and Road Initiative, when complemented, can provide more development opportunities for other countries in the world, such as in investment, industry, commercial trade, energy and even science and technology, which will also change the investment environment of China and Saudi Arabia.
21st century: China and Saudi Arabia have complementary advantages in economic and industrial structure. Under the epidemic, how to continue to maintain this advantage? Next, how to promote the construction of the "Belt and Road" and anti-epidemic cooperation?
Obier: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a major change that has not been seen in a century, but there are still many opportunities in it, and the key is how to seize this opportunity through cooperation and make long-term investment or cooperation. For example, in terms of business, although the epidemic has affected the order of the world market, the world still needs trade and commercial operations, and the prospects for cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia will be very broad.
The strategic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China is firm and solid, and the cooperation also allows for better understanding between the two sides. For China's "Belt and Road" initiative, I think it can help countries along the route to better carry out economic construction, which is beneficial to their future development.
The "carbon cooperation" between China and Saudi Arabia will play an exemplary role
21st century: In recent years, the Gulf countries have successively introduced plans and projects for the development of clean energy. What has Saudi Arabia done to optimize its industrial structure and reduce emissions?
Obier: The biggest goal of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" is to reduce emissions and do a good job in environmental protection, that is, to complete "carbon neutrality" and "carbon peaking" and reduce the country's dependence on oil. Saudi Arabia has built a smart city called "Neom" in the northwest, with the goal of making it one of the top ten smart cities in the world, and achieving complete zero emissions and zero pollution in this city. We expect Saudi Arabia to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and completely zero emissions by 2060.
We need decades to work towards comprehensive emissions reductions. Vision 2030 is an initiative to realize a green Middle East and green Saudi Arabia, which is mainly done in two steps, the first is to reduce industrial production and manufacturing, and the other is to carry out large-scale green planting, which can help reduce emissions. Among them, in terms of reducing industrial emissions, we will advocate the use of new energy vehicles; in addition, for projects that invest in the construction of factories in Saudi Arabia, the government will limit the emission standards of the projects.
21st Century: In the context of "double carbon", what are the opportunities for cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia?
Obier: Over the past decade, there have been many countries that have tried to change the use of fossil fuels, but at a high cost. I think it's impossible to be completely dependent on crude oil for the next 20-30 years, which is easy to extract, inexpensive and easy to preserve. Since the strategic energy reserves of many countries in the world are still oil, when there is a price turbulence of oil, the global economy will also have a great impact.
In the post-pandemic era, countries around the world need to further communicate. In this case, countries with new energy treatment technologies and sufficient energy reserves will play a big role. But the premise must be joint cooperation, not just one country, and the cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia will also play an exemplary role.
Saudi Aramco, the saudi national oil company, is also cooperating in petrochemical energy in China, helping to refine oil in China and sell oil to all of China. With the help of Saudi technology, China can use Saudi oil for a shorter period of time than ever before. China's new energy automobile industry is developing rapidly, and there are great opportunities for cooperation in the new energy automobile industry between China and Saudi Arabia, and a number of new energy vehicle projects have landed in Saudi Arabia. I believe that under the example of China-Saudi Arabia cooperation, many countries that rely on industry will soon be able to return to their pre-pandemic status.
China and Saudi Arabia will benefit from the "dividend" of economic integration
21st century: Saudi Arabia has recently announced its economic diversification plan and proposed to accelerate the development of the digital economy. In your opinion, in the emerging field of digital economy, what opportunities for cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia are there?
Obier: Part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is to turn the Saudi government into a digital government, and all government work is fully digitized. In the future, Saudi citizens will go to the government affairs hall, banks or relevant departments of the state to handle affairs, all of which can be handled online. It is believed that the digital economy will become an important direction of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.
In fact, China and Saudi Arabia have established close cooperation in this field. For example, the Saudi and Chinese governments have signed a series of agreements for cooperation on 5G communications and artificial intelligence. The Saudi government has also signed a $1.5 billion deal with Alibaba Group, which has set up a training base in Saudi Arabia to train professional artificial intelligence and communication technology talents for Saudi Arabia. Huawei and Saudi Aramco have also established an innovation center in Saudi Arabia to provide Saudi Aramco with intelligent solutions for production management through innovation in artificial intelligence and information technology, and realize digital transformation.
21st Century: It is understood that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been working to promote economic integration in the Gulf, and the two sides are currently stepping up negotiations on the establishment of a free trade area. How do you see the benefits of establishing a FTA between China and The Sea?
Obier: Economic integration has become an important trend in global development, and the GCC will do a good job of improving the investment and business environment between China and Saudi Arabia, the movement of goods between the two sides will become more convenient, and the resulting tariffs and other costs will also be reduced. I believe that through the establishment of the China-Saudi Arabia Free Trade Zone, both China and Saudi Arabia will benefit from the "dividend" of economic integration, and ultimately benefit the people of China and Saudi Arabia, who will be able to buy the products they want at a lower price.
21st century: The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of the most economically developed and open regions in China. What do you think of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area What aspects of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the Greater Bay Area will be carried out in the future?
Obier: In my opinion, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will become the world's top bay area in the future, and even surpass other bay areas in the world. In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to the construction and development planning of the Greater Bay Area, and the construction of the Greater Bay Area is also closely related to China's "Belt and Road" initiative. If the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can become a world-class bay area, it will help create a better environment for attracting investment and investment.
For example, the Greater Bay Area has BYD, GAC, Xiaopeng Automobile and other enterprises in the field of new energy vehicles, and I often encourage Saudi entrepreneurs to visit the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As the southern gate of China, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will certainly be regarded as a model of advancement in the future, and will become the best window for exchanges between China and the world, foreign economic cooperation and cultural cooperation.
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