Members of a Chinese medical team board the plane to Saudi Arabia from Yinchuan, capital of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on April 15 with medical supplies to assist in the fight against COVID-19. Photo: Xinhua

As China and Saudi Arabia just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 21 made a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

The two countries have become a model for mutual respect, mutual benefits and win-win cooperation, Wang said.

The ministers agreed the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between two countries marks a new opportunity to deepen bilateral comprehensive strategic partnerships in various fields into a higher level. 

The two countries have complimented each others' economy and industry, and efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, while Saudi Arabia is China's largest trading partner in West Asia and Africa. The bilateral trade volume between the two countries has increased 150-fold in the past three decades.

The two countries have promoted the in-depth alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.

The Chinese government has assisted Saudi Arabia in COVID-19 fight by providing free medical supplies, medical experts, and a rapid procurement channel of medical emergency supplies.

Chinese companies also signed a cooperation agreement with the Saudi Arabia government to help build six large laboratories in Saudi Arabia to improve virus detection capability. 

Since the signing of the agreement, Saudi Arabia's virus detection capacity has been steadily improved, with the daily test scale expanding from 5,000 to 6,000 in mid-April to about 27,000 now, Xinhua reported.

Global Times