Chinese FM expounds on Xi's Mideast trip

BEIJING - State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday briefed the media on President Xi Jinping's attendance at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit as well as his state visit to Saudi Arabia.

Xi's landmark Mideast trip from Wednesday to Saturday ushered in a new era of all-round and in-depth development of relations between China and Arab states, between China and the GCC, and between China and Saudi Arabia, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Xi has not only attended the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit, and paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia, but also held bilateral meetings with nearly 20 Arab leaders, Wang said, deeming Xi's Mideast trip as China's largest and highest-level diplomatic action with the Arab world since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Calling Xi's attendance at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit and his meetings with leaders of Saudi Arabia another great pioneering undertaking in China's diplomacy, Wang said it has demonstrated the strategic choice of China and Arab countries to strengthen solidarity and coordination in the face of global challenges.