2016年CRI Saudi Arabians Looking Forward to Xi's Visit

 

Ties between China and Saudi Arabia can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty, with famed Chinese Admiral Zhang He, himself a Muslim, dispatching sailors to Mecca and Medina as part of his voyages in the 15th century.

However, modern diplomatic ties between the two countries only date to 1990.

Still, many among Saudi Arabia's older generations seem to have a fairly good understanding of China's history.

"I know of China's brilliant old culture, and its language is even older. And the Great Wall, there's a saying that 'if you haven't been to the Great Wall, you haven't been in China'. That's a statement the Chinese always say, right?"

But for the younger generation in Saudi Arabia, talk of China these days seems directed more toward the future.

"If you want to talk about the old China, we can say manufacturing. But when you talk about these years, we're talking more about technology and innovation. I mean, China isn't only a manufacturer anymore, China has many companies that have research and development centers,"

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1990, ties between the two countries have increased significantly.

While oil is undoubtedly¹ the 'tie that binds³' both countries, the level of bilateral⁴ cooperation does go well beyond that.

When the Sichuan earthquake hit in 2008, Saudi Arabia provided China close to 50-million euros worth of assistance, by far the largest international donation.

Every year, more and more people from Saudi Arabia arrive in China to do business or study.

An increasing number of Chinese students are also heading into Saudi Arabia every year.

Abdurahman Bin² Ali Al Jeraisy, President of Saudi-China Friendship Association, says he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the Kingdom this week will only help increase ties.

"There's no doubt President Xi Jinping's visit is very important to us. The invitation made by the Saudi King suggests that China is important to Saudi Arabia and his visit also shows that Saudi Arabia is also important to China. The visit is certainly expected to expand exchanges between the two countries and two peoples."

Xi Jinping's trip to Saudi Arabia this week coincides with the 10th anniversary of the late-King Abdullah's visit to China in January of 2006, the first Saudi head-of-state to visit China.

While the Chinese President's agenda for his meetings in Riyadh has not been detailed⁵, its expected economic ties are likely to be high on the list.

Bilateral trade between the two sides hit over 60-billion US dollars in 2014.

For CRI, this is Qizhi.

1 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。