JEDDAH, 26 February 2007 — Chinese delegates to the Jeddah Economic Forum 2007 (JEF) yesterday urged Saudi banks to consider opening branches in their country so that they could follow suit in the Kingdom. The invitation was given by Chinese speakers at the pre-lunch session on the opening day of the Jeddah Economic Forum 2007. The bank branch opening issue figured during the question-answer session following the addresses of Chinese speakers — Liu Jianfeng, head of the Chinese delegation holding the ministerial rank and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deputy Minister Ren Yuling, member of CPPCC, and Niu Wenyuan, also a deputy minister.

“Chinese banks are willing to open branches here and we also invite Saudi banks to open branches in our country,” Dr. Hu Wei former Chinese ambassador to Riyadh and who works for the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Mechanization Sciences, said. “Some Chinese banks and companies have opened agencies in Dubai, one of them being the Chinese Agricultural Bank which has a branch in the UAE.

“Opening of bank branches would strengthen bilateral relations, and such steps would play an important role in forging stronger ties and cooperation,” Jianfeng said.

Asked whether he would propose a dialogue between the Chinese Muslims and Saudi Arabia, Wei said China had 23 million Muslims. “The country has deep respect for the community. There are no restrictions on Muslims. They are allowed to practice their faith freely,” he said. “Halal kitchens are growing in numbers, which shows Chinese respect for Muslim tradition.”

Muslims, who are concentrated in western China, are governed by autonomous administrations. Every year a great number of pilgrims travel to the Kingdom for performing Haj and Umrah. “We operated 30 Haj flights last season. Regular weekly or even daily flights are possible in future from China to Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Culturally, bilateral relations are getting stronger, he said, adding that an increasing number of Chinese students are pursuing studies across the Kingdom and and their Saudi counterparts also show keen interest in studying in China. Some of the Chinese companies present in the Kingdom have funded the studies of Saudi students in China, he said. “I’m happy to see that there is a cultural attache at the Saudi Embassy in Beijing,” Wei said. In the past years, China has witnessed tremendous development, specially in education and culture. The country has 30 million Internet subscribers and they are growing in numbers.

Referring to the corporate responsibility toward society, he said state and private companies had been playing an important role in such matters. For instance, many Chinese companies have already become sponsors for the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games. Wei, who was on the panel with Liu Zhaomeng, professor and senior engineer, said the country was facing numerous challenges both domestically and internationally. “With its 1.3 billion population, China is still a developing nation. The country’s GDP ranking is fourth in the world, however, its per capita income is low.

Our sustained effort is to reduce the gap between the rich and poor. We want the benefits to reach rural areas inhabited by the poor.”

Referring to growing trade and economic relations between the two countries, Wei said both countries had shown their inclination to increase their investments and joint ventures. “China has taken a quantum leap in its investments and joint ventures in the Kingdom. We are now involved in 36 projects costing billions of riyals across the Kingdom.”

Wenyuan said China was pursuing a path of sustainable development despite the fact that its growing population and the consequent strain on resources were causing concerns. “In the next 30 to 40 years, our population will reach a historical level of 1.5 billion bringing in its wake the problem of employment. Yet, we will be aiming for an annual growth rate of 9.5 percent. However, with our burgeoning population there will be a heavy demand for energy and that is where we seek to expand our cooperation with the Kingdom — the largest producer and exporter of oil.”