Saudi Arabia and China agreed Wednesday on jointly coordinating investments in the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The proposed cooperation aims to ensure oil supply and demand security to BRI countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. This came in a virtual meeting co-chaired by Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdlulaziz Bin Salman and Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China Lian Weiliang.

The meeting was the fourth gathering of the Belt and Road Major Investment Projects and Energy Subcommittee, of which Prince Abdulaziz is the Saudi Chairman.

This Subcommittee is under the the Saudi-China High-Level Joint Committee, which is chaired by the Saudi Crown Prince. "Saudi Arabia has always considered China as a strategic partner, and that the Committee strives for further alignment between the Saudi and China visions of the future, especially in the energy sphere, where there are multiple synergies," Prince Abdulaziz said.

In the meeting, the co-chairs discussed areas where Saudi Arabia and China look to strengthen their relationship, such as oil and petrochemicals, decarbonization technologies, electricity and renewables, hydrogen, energy efficiency, civil nuclear energy, and supply chain security, in addition to industrial cooperation, the fourth industrial revolution, mining and logistics, civil aviation and aviation security, and digital economy.

The Saudi minister added that the trade exchange between the two countries is steadily growing in the past five years.

"China is the number one export destination for the oil Kingdom's exports. The Kingdom will continue to be its reliable and trusted partner," he said.

On the other hand, Mr. Lian appreciated the Kingdom's efforts in maintaining the stability of global oil markets.