Saudi Arabia and China are deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership with this year's China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture, marking a milestone in cultural collaboration, alongside significant advances in trade and investment, says Saudi Arabia's ambassador to China, Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi.

"As part of the comprehensive strategic partnership, Saudi Arabia and China are exploring collaboration opportunities across all sectors, including trade, investment and culture," he told China Daily. "This year's China-Saudi Arabia Cultural Year is a milestone, marking a new focus in our cooperation."

China and Saudi Arabia are key trading partners, China being Saudi Arabia's largest and Saudi Arabia being China's largest in the Middle East. Last year China issued its first sovereign bond in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, and this year the two countries will co-host the first China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture.

Cultural partnerships are crucial for developing bilateral relations and increasing mutual understanding, Al-Harbi said.

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"The China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture will kick-start further efforts to deepen the cultural cooperation and bridge people-to-people connections. Both countries have rich histories and diverse cultures, making this a great opportunity for enhancing mutual understanding."

To support cultural exchanges, Saudi Arabia launched the Prince Mohammad bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation last year. This annual award will honor researchers, artists, linguists, translators and others in the cultural field from both China and Saudi Arabia for their contributions to bilateral cultural collaboration.

Language education

In August, Saudi Arabia welcomed its first batch of 175 Chinese-language teachers, marking the beginning of Chinese-language education after it was included in the curriculum of Saudi schools.

In October, Saudi films were screened in Chinese cinemas for the first time, featuring four movies that showcased different aspects of Saudi culture.

"In future, we aim to have Saudi movies shown in cinemas across various Chinese cities," Al-Harbi said. He also praised China's recent movie hit Ne Zha 2, noting its global popularity.

"We would also like to invite Chinese movies to be shown in Saudi Arabia and seek to benefit from and collaborate with China's expertise in the film industry. We are also interested in coproducing movies with Chinese filmmakers."

Al-Harbi expressed optimism about cultural exchanges between Saudi Arabia and China.

"The China-Saudi Arabia Year of Culture provides a great opportunity for more events, exchanges and cooperation in cinema and other cultural fields. This will undoubtedly help us achieve our goal of enhancing and deepening bilateral cooperation."

This year also marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Saudi Arabia.

"Our bilateral relationship has evolved into a comprehensive strategic partnership that serves the common interests of both nations across all sectors," Al-Harbi said.

"This is particularly evident within the framework of our respective development plans, the Saudi Vision 2030 and the Belt and Road Initiative. We will continue cooperation with our Chinese partners to strengthen our relations and broaden them."

Contact the writer at: yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn