After nearly two years of preparation, the first summit between China and the Arab states is scheduled for this week, a meeting Beijing describes as a "milestone" in Sino-Arab relations.
The Global Times, a daily newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, said in an opinion column Tuesday that "the summit conforms to the trend of the development of the times and will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations. … The China-Arab friendly cooperation is set to enter a new stage."
The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements and memoranda of understanding with Arab states, deals that cover issues such as energy, security and investments, according to Reuters.
The Saudi Press Agency confirmed Tuesday that King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has extended an invitation to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit the kingdom December 7-9 for three gatherings: a Saudi-Chinese summit, an Arab-Chinese summit and a Gulf Cooperation Council-Chinese summit.
Xinhua News, China’s official state news agency, announced Wednesday that Xi will be attending the three summits. This will be one of his rare trips outside China since COVID-19 was first identified in humans in Wuhan in December 2019.
