Saudi Industry Minister Explores High-Tech Automotive and Smart Collaboration with Chinese Companies

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef has visited the Guangzhou Economic & Technological Development District (GETDD) in China. SPA
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef has visited the Guangzhou Economic & Technological Development District (GETDD) in China. SPA
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Saudi Industry Minister Explores High-Tech Automotive and Smart Collaboration with Chinese Companies

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef has visited the Guangzhou Economic & Technological Development District (GETDD) in China. SPA
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef has visited the Guangzhou Economic & Technological Development District (GETDD) in China. SPA

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef has visited the Guangzhou Economic & Technological Development District (GETDD) as part of his visit to China.
Wednesday’s visit aimed to enhance industrial cooperation in several targeted industrial sectors.
He was accompanied by the Assistant Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Planning and Development, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ahmari, National Industrial Development Center (NIDC) Chief Executive Eng. Saleh Al-Sulami, and the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) Chief Executive Eng. Majid Al-Argoubi.
The minister’s visit included a tour of Guangzhou MINO Equipment Co., Ltd., where he held discussions with the company's vice president on exploring cooperation opportunities in the manufacturing of high-tech vehicles.
He also visited Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holding Group (GIIHG) and discussed with the group's president ways to enhance cooperation in the industrial sector and the production of smart equipment.
The minister met with the Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC) chairman to discuss the possibility of establishing a strategic partnership with the group and developing sustainable transportation solutions.
Al-Khorayef met with the chairman of Foton Motor, a company specialized in manufacturing commercial vehicles. They discussed joint initiatives in developing and advancing electric vehicles, hybrid technology, and advanced automotive technologies.
Additionally, he toured the GETDD, which was established in 1984. Among 219 similar zones, it ranks second in overall strength and first in scientific and technological innovation. The zone is also recognized as one of the top ten high-tech parks in China and globally.
In a main hall located in the Science Square, which features a wide range of exhibits, Al-Khorayef was briefed on the zone’s offerings in terms of knowledge exchange, best practices for capacity building, and fostering foreign investments.
The presentation also highlighted the incentives provided and Guangzhou’s experiences in scientific and technological innovations related to the industrial sector.
During his visits, he reviewed the sub-sectors of the National Industrial Strategy, including the automotive sector, and the incentives provided by the Kingdom to encourage foreign investments.
He also explored potential ways to exchange expertise, best practices for capacity building and knowledge enhancement, and leverage advanced Chinese experience in high-tech automotive manufacturing.



China Offers Africa $51 Bln in Fresh Funding

China's President Xi Jinping (C) delivers a speech during the opening of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
China's President Xi Jinping (C) delivers a speech during the opening of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
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China Offers Africa $51 Bln in Fresh Funding

China's President Xi Jinping (C) delivers a speech during the opening of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
China's President Xi Jinping (C) delivers a speech during the opening of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES

President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday to step up China's support to the world's fastest-growing continent with funding of nearly $51 billion, backing for more infrastructure initiatives and a promise to create at least 1 million jobs.

The world's biggest two-way lender, Beijing showed a desire to move away from funding big-ticket infrastructure and focus instead on selling to developing economies the advanced and green technologies in which Chinese firms have invested heavily.

Still, Xi told delegates from more than 50 African nations that the world's second-largest economy would carry out 30 infrastructure projects across the resource-rich continent, and offer 360 billion yuan ($50.70 billion) in financial assistance, Reuters reported.
"China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment," Xi told delegates at a major China-Africa summit in Beijing.
He called for "a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and co-ordinated development," as he told Chinese contractors to return to the 1-billion-strong continent, after the lifting of COVID-19 curbs that disrupted its schemes.
Last year, China approved loans worth $4.61 billion to Africa, in the first annual increase since 2016.
Xi said 210 billion yuan of the financing pledge would be disbursed through credit lines and at least 70 billion in fresh investment by Chinese companies, with smaller amounts provided through military aid and other projects.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, held this year in the Chinese capital, chalks out a three-year program for China and every African state bar Eswatini, which retains ties to Taiwan.
Besides 30 infrastructure connectivity projects, Xi added, "China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa," offering to co-operate on nuclear technology and tackle a power deficit that has delayed industrialization efforts.
But the Chinese leader did not reiterate his pledge at the 2021 forum in Dakar for the Asian giant to buy $300 billion worth of African goods, pledging only to unilaterally expand market access.