Chinese President Hu Jintao starts a state visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. It is another important event in the Sino-Saudi relations since King Abdullah paid a successful visit to China in January this year.

During the visit, President Hu and King Abdullah are expected to discuss ways of promoting cooperation and exchanging views on issues of common concern. They will also sign a series of documents on cooperation in various fields.

President Hu's visit, at the invitation of King Abdullah, will surely further consolidate and develop the traditional friendship between China and Saudi Arabia and usher in a new era of bilateral cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wu Chunhua, said on the eve of Hu's visit.

Since China and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relationship in 1990, leaders of both countries have attached great importance to the development of bilateral ties, Wu said.

Friendly cooperation between the two nations has progressed steadily in various sectors, he said.

-- in the political field, China and Saudi Arabia have closely conducted consultations and actively coordinated their positions on many international and regional issues, such as Arab-Israeli conflict and the Iraq war.

-- in the economic field, bilateral trade volume registered an annual growth of 41 percent from 2001 to 2005. In the first two months of 2006 alone, bilateral trade volume hit US$2.7 billion, up 43 percent as compared to the same period of last year. China has become the fourth largest importer of Saudi exports, and Saudi Arabia has ranked the fifth biggest destination for Chinese exports.

-- in the energy field, bilateral cooperation has yielded remarkable achievements on the basis of mutual benefits. From January 2005 to March 2006, Chinese corporations and enterprises clinched 55 Saudi contracts totaling more than US$3.4 billion, in oil-related projects, cement production, telecommunications, and infrastructure construction.

Describing President Hu's visit as a milestone event, Wu said that it will surely give a strong impetus to the comprehensive development of the Sino-Saudi friendly cooperation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2006)