On 23 July, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

Wang Yi noted the recent celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and lauded the China-Saudi Arabia relationship as a fine example of state-to-state relations featuring mutual respect and mutual benefit. In their congratulatory messages on the occasion, leaders of the two countries applauded the tremendous progress in bilateral relations and charted the course for deepened cooperation.

Wang reaffirmed China's readiness to work with Saudi Arabia to act upon the important consensus between leaders of the two countries, increase political mutual trust, and continue to render each other firm support. China will work with Saudi Arabia to seek greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia and usher in a brighter future for China-Saudi Arabia relations.

Wang commended Saudi Arabia's active role as the G20 President and its efforts to put together a string of important events. Now G20 members have come to an important stage in preparing the outcomes of the Riyadh Summit. China's view is that all members should act in the spirit of unity and partnership, support multilateralism, strengthen policy coordination and see that the summit sends a positive message of jointly fighting COVID-19, promoting global economic recovery and implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China will continue to support Saudi Arabia's work as the G20 President and is confident that the summit will be a complete success.

Wang said that the WTO is a major platform for global economic governance and lies at the center of the multilateral trading regime, but the organization is facing serious challenges from unilateralism and protectionism. It is imperative that the international community firmly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system, make sure that WTO reform moves in the right direction, uphold the basic principles and core values of the WTO, and restore the authority of this organization.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said that Saudi Arabia and China are solid comprehensive strategic partners. Saudi Arabia fully agrees that the two sides should take the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties as a new starting point and work for greater progress in the relationship. Saudi Arabia and China both support multilateralism and free trade and have maintained close dialogue and coordination on G20 cooperation. Without China's strong support and active participation, the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit could not have been so successful in promoting a collective international response against COVID-19. Saudi Arabia is ready to work with China for a successful G20 Riyadh Summit at the end of this year.

The two sides also exchanged views on deepening the China-Arab strategic partnership and supporting Saudi Arabia in hosting the China-Arab Summit.