China, Saudi Arab sign on to 7 projects

China and Saudi Arabia signed onto seven cooperative projects in Riyadh on Monday, further expanding production cooperation between the two nations.

The projects, valued at more than $1 billion, mainly involve automobile manufacturing, new materials, intelligent equipment, circular economy and the food and beverage industries, a statement from the Guangzhou Development District said on Monday.

Officials and senior business executives from both countries attended the on-site signing ceremony or via remote video links.

The China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in production capacity is an important measure for Guangdong province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in Northwest China to implement the country's Belt and Road Initiative, the statement said.

The GDD and Ningxia's Yinchuan Economic and Technological Development Zone signed a memorandum of cooperation with Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco, witnessed by the heads of state of the two nations in 2016 and opening a new chapter in production capacity cooperation.

The seven projects signed in Riyadh on Monday are from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Shaoxing and Changsha. They will help further advance the cooperation between the two nations, it said.

The GDD will continue to give full play to its strengths to expand practical cooperation with the rest of the world in various fields and take China-Saudi Arabia cooperation to a new level in the years to come, the statement said.

Located in eastern part of Guangzhou, the GDD has so far attracted more than 4,600 foreign-funded enterprises from more than 100 countries and regions, including 179 projects invested by the world's top 500 companies.

It is in the core area of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and utilizes foreign investment worth about $34.8 billion as the end of November.