China will be chief guest at Janadriyah

Chinese Ambassador Li Chengwen told Arab News yesterday that his country would be the Guest of Honor at the 28th Janadriyah National Festival of Heritage and Culture in February.
In his message on the occasion of the New Year that starts tomorrow, Li said China would showcase the essence of Chinese culture, economic achievements, and scientific innovations. The interaction between China and the Kingdom as well as Arab civilizations will be presented fully during the festival. It will be a window for Saudi people to get a comprehensive vision of the country during the event.
“I remember that Saudi Arabia carried out a series of unique cultural activities during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, which caused a flutter in China,” the ambassador said.
“At the advent of the New Year 2013, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations and good wishes to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman and the friendly Saudi people.”
Looking back at 2012, he said the Kingdom, under the wise leadership of King Abdullah, not only saw economic prosperity, social stability and happiness of the people, but also made an important contribution to the global energy supply and regional development.
In China, the economy and society continue to maintain a healthy and stable development. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China elected new party leaders and drew the blueprint for the development of the next 10 years. The strategic friendly relationship between China and Saudi Arabia has progressed steadily, he said.
The ambassador said high-level visits and exchanges in various fields were frequent, which enhanced the friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples. During the first 10 months of 2012, bilateral trade amounted to $ 60.8 billion, a growth rate of 16.8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trade partner and third largest export market of crude oil; Saudi Arabia, as China’s largest overseas crude oil supplier, has been China’s largest trade partner in the West Asian and African region during 10 consecutive years. Sino-Saudi relations are vibrant, and have a bright prospect.
“Looking ahead to 2013, I believe that with the joint efforts of the two governments and peoples, the two countries will continue to maintain a good momentum of development and achieve new successes. The strategic cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia is going to be expanded to a higher and deeper level, and into wider fields. Strategic mutual trust between the two countries will be more mature, and the advantages of bilateral economic relations will be further explored. The two peoples will enjoy real benefits,” Li said.
The ambassador observed that during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Chinese audience queued up for seven or eight hours to see the Saudi pavilion. “Now, the Chinese culture show is coming here in Saudi Arabia, and we warmly welcome the friendly people of the Kingdom to visit the Chinese pavilion during the festival, and to find a friendly and genuine China.”