JOHANNESBURG - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed China-Saudi Arabia relations with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 35 years ago, China-Saudi Arabia relations have overtaken others from behind and are now at the forefront of China's relations with Middle East countries.

China cherishes the mutual trust and friendship established by the top leaders of the two countries and has always placed China-Saudi Arabia relations at a key position in its Middle East diplomacy, Wang underlined.

China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels and expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia in fields such as economy, trade, investment, new energy, digital economy, information and telecommunications, and high-end manufacturing, to push China-Saudi Arabia relations to a higher level, he said.

The foreign minister further said that China appreciates Saudi Arabia's active mediation of hotspot issues and is happy to see Saudi Arabia play a constructive role in regional peace and stability. With the Palestinian issue at the core of the Middle East issue, China will continue to stand firmly with its Arab brothers and make efforts to correct historical injustice thoroughly, and restore lasting peace in the region at an early date, Wang added.

For his part, Faisal said that Saudi Arabia and China are comprehensive strategic partners and their relations are of vital importance. He said Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to cooperation with China and looks forward to taking the opportunity of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties to strengthen high-level exchanges with China and achieve more successes in bilateral relations.

Sharing the same philosophy, Saudi Arabia and China are committed to maintaining peace and stability and agree to resolve differences through dialogue, said Faisal.

Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to China's role as a major country with important influence, and hopes to find more feasible political solutions to hotspot issues with China's support, he said.

Saudi Arabia opposes the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people in Gaza, highly appreciates China's adherence to principles and upholding justice on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, and hopes and believes that China will continue to play a positive role for peace in the Middle East, Faisal added.

The two sides also exchanged views on China's relations with Arab and Gulf countries, and agreed to strengthen communication and coordination to achieve more concrete results in China-Arab and China-Gulf practical cooperation.