Political Lens

Premier scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE

Premier Li Qiang will travel to Saudi Arabia to chair the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee, and will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, from Tuesday to Friday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning announced on Monday.

The High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee was initiated in 2016 to guide and coordinate cooperation between the two countries.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Saudi Arabia has been China's largest trading partner in the Middle East since 2001 and has long been China's largest crude oil supplier, while China has been Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner since 2013.

The UAE has been China's largest export market and second-largest trading partner in the Middle East for many years, according to the Foreign Ministry. It is also the fifth-largest source of China's crude oil imports.