Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao has met Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz on deepening the two countries' strategic friendship and dealing with the global financial crisis.

Hu Jintao arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday at the start of his "journey of friendship and cooperation" to Saudi Arabia and four African countries.

Officials and experts say the trip will substantially promote multilateral cooperation and help tackle the global economic slowdown.

CRI Reporter Chen Xi has the details.

Reporter:
As the world grapples with the financial crisis and explores ways to spur growth, the Chinese President has kicked off his first official visits of the New Year.

Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said the trip would further deepen diplomatic relationships.

"It is expected that, through the visits, the strategic ties between China and Saudi Arabia will be enhanced. They will also further cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council, promote the implementation of the results from the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and deepen a new China-Africa strategic partnership."

The official said the spreading economic upheaval is disproportionately affecting developing nations like China, Saudi Arabia and some African countries. How to cope with it is now a primary topic among leaders of these countries.

The president's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia is his second to the Arab state since April 2006. King Abdullah paid a state visit to China in January 2006. It was his first official overseas visit after ascending the throne and the first visit to China by a Saudi king since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990.

Zhai Jun said the visit to Saudi Arabia will offer great potential for cooperation in infrastructure construction, education and cultural exchanges.

Concerning Hu Jintao's four-country tour in Africa, Xu Weizhong, a senior research fellow on African studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, says the relationship has entered a new period, and cooperation no longer lies only in energy and natural resource projects.

"The economic crisis, both for China and African nations, should enhance South-South Cooperation. We may see some new measures emerging to resolve the conflicts ahead during this process."

This is the Chinese president's second trip to the continent in search of closer cooperation since the 2006 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China devised an eight-measure policy to enhance economic and trade cooperation with Africa during the summit two years ago, including assistance, preferential finance, construction of a conference center for the African Union, debt cancellation, increased African market share in China, professional training, and the establishment of trade and economic cooperation zones in Africa.

Xu Weizhong said the policy has been effectively carried out with remarkable achievements in the past two years.

He says President Hu Jintao's choices for his first official visits of 2009 show that the Chinese government attaches high importance to relations with developing countries in accordance with common interests.

Chen Xi, CRI News.