From June 21 to 22, Guiying Wu, Secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee and Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, led a Changsha delegation on an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The visit aimed to advance the implementation of President Xi Jinping's key initiatives on promoting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI “一带一路”) and the consensus reached between the heads of state of China and Saudi Arabia. The delegation's goals included deepening economic and trade relations, strengthening industrial cooperation, promoting people-to-people exchanges, and enhancing connectivity, thereby contributing to the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia.

The year 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Saudi Arabia, and exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between Changsha and Saudi Arabia have intensified, yielding fruitful results across multiple sectors in recent years. During the visit, Secretary Wu met with Sarah Al-Sayegh, Vice Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, for in-depth discussions on expanding cooperation in industrial investment, trade, culture, and tourism. Both sides expressed a strong commitment to aligning the Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030 with Saudi Arabia, promoting industrial complementarity, encouraging two-way investment, and accelerating major project implementation to generate shared benefits for both peoples.

The China (Changsha) - Saudi Arabia Key Enterprises Matchmaking Conference was held in Riyadh on June 22. In her keynote speech, Secretary Wu emphasized that as the China-Saudi partnership flourishes, Changsha and Saudi Arabia are embracing increasingly close collaboration. She expressed hopes that this conference would serve as a catalyst to enhance mutual understanding, expand areas of cooperation, and unlock broader opportunities for future collaboration. Remarks were also delivered by Vice Minister Sarah Al-Sayegh, Khalid Al-Hammoud (Executive Vice President of the National Industrial Development Center of Saudi Arabia), and Song He (Minister-Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia). Representatives from leading Chinese and Saudi companies shared their insights.

As part of a signing ceremony including construction machinery, new energy, intelligent driving, and biopharmaceuticals, CiDi signed strategic agreements with Riyadh for V2X infrastructure development and a Zero-Carbon, Zero-Waste City Pilot Project.

In celebration of the First China-Saudi Year of Culture, the exhibition titled "A Chinese Character That Makes You Fall in Love with China" was held in Riyadh, themed around Huxiang culture. Secretary Wu attended the event alongside representatives from Saudi government agencies, associations, foundations, universities, and members of the public to engage in cultural exchanges and calligraphy activities, deepening mutual understanding and building bridges of friendship and shared values.

As a vital force in advancing Hunan Province’s high-level opening-up, Xiang (Hunan)-based enterprises expanding overseas are playing an increasingly important role. During her visit to Riyadh, Secretary Wu Guiying conducted field research at key infrastructure projects undertaken by Hunan enterprises, including the Sifangcheng development, and held discussions with representatives of Hunan firms operating in Saudi Arabia. She encouraged these enterprises to leverage their unique advantages in bridging domestic and international markets and resources, serving as crucial links for investment promotion and talent attraction. She further called on them to actively contribute to strengthening China–Saudi Arabia exchanges and to support Changsha’s efforts in building a Global R&D center and advancing its “Three Strategic High Grounds” initiative—positioning itself as a center for technological innovation, high-quality development in Central China, and reform and opening-up.

During the trip, the delegation also visited the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia and held working-level exchanges with Chargé d'Affaires Ma Jian.