China, Saudi Arabia pledge to deepen cooperation

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman met on Wednesday in Riyadh and pledged to further promote bilateral relations and cooperation.

Han was visiting Saudi Arabia from Tuesday to Saturday at the invitation of the Saudi government.

During their meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace, Han conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the crown prince.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 35 years ago, and especially since Xi's successful visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022, China-Saudi Arabia relations have made new positive progress, he said.

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee has sent a clear signal for China to further advance comprehensive reforms and expand high-level opening up, which will provide valuable opportunities for the future development of China-Saudi Arabia relations, the vice president added.

China stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, enhance high-level exchanges, expand practical cooperation in various fields, and increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges, in order to lift the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership to higher levels, he said.

China, he added, is also willing to enhance coordination with Saudi Arabia on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations and the G20, advance global governance in a more just and reasonable direction, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The crown prince, for his part, asked Han to convey his best wishes to President Xi. Noting that China is an important major country in the world, he said that the political relations between Saudi Arabia and China are solid and at the highest level in history, and Saudi Arabia firmly adheres to the one-China principle. The Saudi side is willing to deepen cooperation with China in areas such as economy and trade, investment, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and mining, to achieve common development, he said.

Saudi Arabia, he said, highly appreciates China's efforts to facilitate reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and values its fair stance on the Palestinian issue. He also expressed the hope that China will play a greater role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

While addressing the Ninth Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference held in Riyadh on Tuesday, Han urged joint efforts to pursue win-win cooperation and achieve common prosperity.

The concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, as well as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, proposed by President Xi, have charted the course for all countries to achieve peaceful development and common prosperity, he said.

The vice president put forward four proposals in his speech。

First, strengthening innovation-driven development and promoting green development. Han urged countries to continuously stimulate development momentum, and driving the green and low-carbon transformation of the world economy.

Second, upholding openness and cooperation and promoting mutual benefit and win-win results. Noting that China has always adhered to the basic national policy of opening up, Han said China is not only a beneficiary of economic globalization, but also a contributor, defender, and promoter of it.

Third, advocating people-centered development and achieving common prosperity. China has always adhered to a people-centered development philosophy, and is advancing the comprehensive development of individuals and the common prosperity of all its people in the process of Chinese modernization, he said.

Fourth, enhancing shared visions and deepening solidarity and coordination. In the face of the ever-increasing global challenges, the destinies of countries are interconnected, and it is necessary to seek common ground in visions on the basis of mutual respect, he said.

The FII conference is the largest and most influential investment and innovation forum in the Middle East. Themed "The key to prosperity: unlocking new frontiers of growth," the latest edition will feature some 250 events and gather more than 8,000 delegates from around the world, including leaders of 16 countries.

During his visit, Han also attended a welcome dinner hosted by the business communities of China and Saudi Arabia. In his speech delivered at the event, the vice president expressed the hope that business circles of both countries would continue to serve as a bridge and link, uphold the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and pursue common development.

Han also visited Jehhad, where he met with Makkah Region Deputy Governor Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz.

China, Saudi Arabia pledge to deepen cooperation

China, Saudi Arabia pledge to deepen cooperation

As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.

Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.

He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.

"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.

He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.

"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.

While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.

"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.

Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail