al-Hasani
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2013
- Messages
- 14,060
- Reaction score
- 43
- Country
- Location
Saudi students in China studying at their own expense to get scholarships
China keen on strategic oil storage
China keen on strategic oil storage
Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, receives in Beijing on Saturday a Saudi student during a meeting with a group of Saudi scholarship students studying in Chinese universities. – SPA
Faheem Al-Hamid
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
Last updated: Sunday, March 16, 2014 12:35 AM
BEIJING – Saudi students studying in Chinese universities and institutes at their own expense will get scholarships as per the directives of Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense.
This was stated by Acting Saudi Cultural Attache to China Othman Al-Abdul Kareem here on Saturday.
Crown Prince Salman said here that he was happy to see Saudi students studying in various parts the world and gaining experience to serve their religion and nation. Addressing a group of Saudi scholarship students studying in Chinese universities, the Crown Prince said, “In the past we used to sign contracts with teachers from outside the Kingdom, but now all our officials, presidents of universities and deans of faculties are Saudi nationals, thanks to Allah. Also, we see our daughters in all fields of life. They have been educated in various parts of the world.”
The Crown Prince also received Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan.
In a separate meeting, Crown Prince Salman received the presidents of the Islamic societies and centers and grand mosques in Beijing and other provinces.
On the sidelines of the visit of the Crown Prince, the Saudi-Chinese Business Forum, organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investments Authority (SAGIA), was inaugurated.
Earlier at a press conference here, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said that China has expressed interest in signing contracts for strategic storage of oil. The Kingdom will cooperate with China, he said, adding that the government attaches great importance to strategic storage and has already signed contracts with Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“China suggested that the private instead of the public sector in both countries should invest in petrochemical industries. We’ll study this suggestion and decide based on our common interests,” Naimi said.
The Kingdom’s oil supply to China will not be decreased, rather it will increase because China is a huge country and needs more oil to meet its expanding industries, the minister said.
Addressing the press briefing Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf said that the Kingdom’s inflation rate is decreasing, which indicates that the country can continue increasing its spending on mega development projects.
“The Kingdom’s financial position is good and we can increase our spending without any effect on us,” Dr. Al-Assaf said.
The volume of bilateral trade stood at $40 billion in the beginning while the targeted ceiling was $60 billion. However, today’s trade volume has jumped to a whopping $74 billion. Non-oil exports, mainly oil derivatives, to China have risen to $11 billion, Al-Assaf said.
“China is very much interested in having a free trade agreement with GCC countries. We’re interested as well and we’ll hold more talks on the issue now that we’ve stopped our negotiations, as GCC countries, with the European Union,” he said.
Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja said China strongly supports the Kingdom’s positions and policies regarding Egypt. “It’s keen to coordinate with us continuously regarding the region’s issues because it knows the Kingdom always takes the right decisions which ensure peace and stability for the entire region,” Dr. Khoja said.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said China is the Kingdom’s largest trade partner, noting that the bilateral volume of trade has increase tenfold and is expected to rise.
Saudi students in China studying at their own expense to get scholarships | Front Page | Saudi Gazette
Exporters of fake Chinese goods to be blacklisted
Trade and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah
Trade and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah
RIYADH: ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
Published — Sunday 16 March 2014
Last update 16 March 2014 1:07 am
Trade and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah has said that merchants and factories that engage in the adulteration of products in either the Kingdom or China would be blacklisted.
Al-Rabiah made his statement following the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Public Department for Quality Control, Test and Quarantine, to combat counterfeit and imitation goods during the visit of Crown Prince Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, to China.
The minister pointed out that the agreement aims to reduce the flow of counterfeit consumer goods to Saudi markets by undertaking several measures, including blacklisting merchants and factories that engage in such practices, to prevent the export or import of such goods.
The agreement also calls for blacklisting laboratories and awarding certificates of conformity to counteract this phenomenon.
According to Al-Rabiah, the agreement includes a provision to draft a joint blacklist for exporters and importers of low-quality commodities, in addition to imposing sanctions on the exporter or the source found guilty of such practices.
“It took a long time until we reached this stage, during which the two sides reviewed international trade practices and took into account the experience of the European Union,” he said. “The agreement includes notifying the other party when punishment is incurred on the source and exchanging information on mutual findings. The two countries will also hold follow-up meetings to ensure that the agreement is being continuously implemented.”
The minister noted that the sanctions adopted in the convention would be subsumed under the system of penalties for commercial fraud, which is applied by the ministry. These include systems defamation, fines and other means of punishment within the same system. China will also apply these penalties.
According to Al-Rabiah, penalties prescribed in the system of commercial fraud in the Kingdom are considered very effective in reducing the number of cases of commercial fraud. He said that both sides will hold meetings every three months in Saudi Arabia with commercial attachés in China to ensure the implementation of the convention.
Abdullah Al-Mobty, president of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), described the agreement as one of many milestones in the history of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
According to Al-Mobty, the volume of trade between the two countries has reached $72 billion. He said trade includes hazardous imitation goods.
He urged Saudi businessmen to take precautionary measures in their business dealings and not to accept questionable goods.
He advised them to send representatives to China to ensure sound product specification and packaging and test samples before shipping. Al-Mobty also warned companies against relying on middlemen and brokers.
Authorities also discussed the idea of manufacturing Chinese products locally rather than relying solely on imports from China in order to support national industrial and commercial growth.
Exporters of fake Chinese goods to be blacklisted | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.