“We want more brands, technologies, and access to global and Chinese markets.”

The minister’s comment came at the of the first day of the 10th edition of a two-day conference attended by more than 3,500 delegates of 23 different nationalities, including the vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Hu Chunhua.

A procession of Saudi ministers from Al-Falih to the top policymakers in foreign affairs, environment and agriculture have echoed hopes of improving relations with China, spanning everything from cultural exchange to direct projects and investments.

“My hope is that these visits will be followed by some companies doing investments,” Al-Falih said, delivering his remarks in English.

“If we choose to do joint-ventures, we are happy to introduce you to multiple partners that you can trust.”

Al-Falih said he would like to go to Hong Kong and the mainland soon, his first visit since 2019, as “a lot of changes” had taken place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aligning with his plan, the Saudi government is finalising plans to send a high-level delegation to Beijing to attend the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) forum in October, its 10th edition, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hong Kong’s government, keen to position the city as the “super connector” in the BRI, is also planning a delegation comprising “hundreds” of business executives and officials to the forum, people said.

Chan, who is a member of the Task Force on Promoting and Branding Hong Kong, said he still sees a “shortage” in cultural exchange between the Saudi Arabia and China.

“We must build a longer term [programme for] people-to-people relationships to really develop economic relationships or other relationships,” he said. “Without that kind of friendship, the foundation, I am afraid, is not that solid.”

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu led a delegation of 30 business executives to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February to look into investment opportunities in financial services, technology and logistics sectors. The weeklong trip came after Beijing stepped up efforts in boosting business ties with the region.

People-to-people ties could also be formed by the private sector, as businesses take up a big role in forming “economic soft power” for Arab consumers, which ultimately helps form the momentum for economic cooperation, Al-Falih said.

The impression of the “average person about other countries is not made by [the amount of] capital flow, or trade volume, but by what is consumed,” the minister said, adding that China’s brands are becoming increasingly popular in household appliances, handheld digital devices, fashion and tourism in the kingdom.

“Sometimes we focus on more tangible things. We want China to come build railroad, ports … We want these, yes, but as many of you realise, private sector actors can be more powerful for building bridges among nations,” the minister said.

Al-Falih said one of the challenges in building people-to-people ties is in education. While Riyadh aimed to boost Chinese as the most-learned second language in the country, there still needs to be “hard work” in recruiting teachers, he said.

Both Al-Falih and Chan said an effective way of boosting ties would be through offering education opportunities in each other’s countries.

According to Saudi Arabia’s ministry of education, a total of 174 Saudi students, including 131 scholarship recipients, and 43 self-funded students, were enrolled in Chinese universities by December last year.

Meanwhile, the ministry said Saudi Arabia offered 477 annual scholarships for Chinese students at Saudi universities, and a total of 688 Chinese students were enrolled in Saudi universities from 2018 to 2022.