Saudi Arabia, China sign deals worth $65 bln

China and Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed 14 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent potentially worth about $65 billion during King Salman's visit to Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported citing the Chinese deputy foreign minister.

According to Zhang Ming, these agreements cover a wide range of areas-- including production and investment--and involve 35 projects.

"President Xi Jinping and King Salman are old friends. Practical cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia has already made major achievements, and has huge potential," Zhang said.

King Salman began a tour of Asia last month to strengthen mutual relations and attract more investments to the world’s largest oil exporter.

Saudi Arabia is looking to boost oil sales to China, the world's second-largest oil market, after losing market share to Russia last year.

According to the official Saudi news agency, SPA, China leads the list of top ten importers from Saudi Arabia as well as being the largest exporter to the kingdom.

Chinese investments within the kingdom reached $9.32 billion, representing 5.5 percent of total foreign investments within Saudi Arabia.

On his Japan leg of this tour earlier this week, the king signed three MoUs in various fields, including desalination projects and visa issuances.