The Banking Executive Magazine - July 2023 Issue

Summits and Valleys CHINA GCC SUMMIT According to sources from the Min- istry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, the first China- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit was held at the King Abdu- laziz International Conference Cen- ter in Riyadh on 9 December 2022. President Xi Jinping attended the Summit with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah of Bahrain, Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait, Deputy Prime Min- ister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said of Oman, the Ruler of Fujairah Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Al Hajraf. The summit affirmed the solidarity between the two sides (China and GCC) in times of adversity. China will continue to support the GCC in seeking strength through unity, real- izing diversified economic develop- ment, and playing a bigger role in regional and international affairs. The first China-GCC Summit is a milestone event in the history of GCC and China relations. President Xi underscored that China highly commends the GCC countries' ef- forts to seek strength through unity and make the GCC the most dy- namic regional organization in the Middle East and the Gulf. In the next three to five years, China will work with GCC countries in the following priority areas: • China will continue to import more crude oil and liquefied natu- ral gas (LNG) from GCC countries. • China will strengthen cooperation with GCC countries in oil and gas development and clean and low- carbon technologies. • China will conduct Renminbi (RMB) settlement in oil and gas trade. The Renminbi (RMB) is the official name of China's currency. • China will cooperate with 300 uni- versities, middle and primary schools in GCC countries on Chi- nese language education, work with GCC countries to set up 300 Chinese language smart class- rooms. China and GCC countries shared the glorious mission of developing and revitalizing their nations. At the Sum- mit, a joint statement by the People's Republic of China and the Coopera- tion Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was issued, a 2023-2027 action plan for strategic dialogue between the People's Republic of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was adopted, and plans were made for China's cooper- ation with GCC countries in various fields. ISSUE 175 JULY 2023 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 43