King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on August 24, the last day of a visit to China which had begun on August 18 with visits to high-tech centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The two heads of state “jointly witnessed the signing of multiple cooperation documents in areas including diplomacy, economy and trade, industrial and supply chains, and judicial affairs,” and issued a joint statement on deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries, China’s Global Times reported.
The King’s bilateral visit exemplifies China’s deepening relations with the Arab countries generally. When China-Arab TV commented at the Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing on Monday that Abdullah’s visit is one of “an increasing number of leaders of Arab nations” who have visited China, Spokesman Lin Jian replied that China-Arab relations have been developing “robustly” over recent years, “setting a stellar example of solidarity and cooperation between developing countries,” which China seeks “to bring to a new height.”
