King Abdullah, the ruler of Saudi Arabia, will visit China next week for talks with Hu Jintao that are expected to cover energy cooperation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced. It will be the first visit to China by a Saudi ruler since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1990. Trade relations between China and Saudi Arabia have expanded considerably in recent years, growing 59% in the first 11 months of 2005 alone to reach US$14 billion. A state-owned Saudi oil company is working with a Chinese producer and Exxon Mobil on a US$3.5 billion refinery expansion project in Southern China.
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