At the Economic and Trade Ministers' Meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and China held last week, hopes were renewed for the conclusion of a trade agreement.

At today's press conference, an official from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) vowed more China-Arab collaboration. This came after the conclusion of the Arab-China business conference, at which over 20 agreements and deals were signed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended two summits with Arab nations last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the China-Arab Summit. At the summits, Xi called for boosting trade with Arab states to US$430 billion by 2027 and promised more trade facilitation and development

The Chinese government and the Saudi Arabian government signed a series of investment agreements and documents to further cooperation on energy, information technology, and infrastructure during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia this week.

The Chinese foreign minister and his GCC counterparts met this week, with the two sides agreeing to "reach [] common ground" on a trade agreement "at an early date."

The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs is in a week-long series of meetings with a high-level delegation of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members. During the meetings, the officials discussed cooperation on trade, the Belt and Road Initiative, strategic partnerships and other topics.