Foreign ministers from oil-rich Gulf states arrived in Beijing on Monday for a five-day visit.
The officials from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, as well as secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef bin Falah al-Hajrah, will be in China until Friday, the foreign ministry has said. China has sought in recent years to bolster its ties with the Gulf states, with President Xi Jinping in 2014 aiming to more than double trade with the region by 2023.
State-owned newspaper Global Times said the visit may also “make breakthroughs” in talks over a China-GCC free-trade agreement.
The potential agreement was first tabled in 2004, with the two sides discussing in March last year the possibility of resuming negotiations. AFP
