Chinese entrepreneurs flock to Saudi Arabia for business conference

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Chinese entrepreneurs flock to Saudi Arabia for business conference

HONG KONG RIYADH: Chinese entrepreneurs and investors are flocking to Riyadh this week to attend a business conference, which will bring together business and government leaders aiming to explore expansion and fundraising opportunities, amid warming diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia will host the 10th Arab-China business conference, the first such forum since China's President Xi Jinping's epoch-making visit to the Gulf state, which Beijing described as the biggest diplomatic initiative in the Arab world.

The event will take place Monday and Sunday, two days after the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia, as Washington works to mend frayed ties with its closest ally in the Middle East.

China's growing cooperation in security and sensitive tech has been a major US concern.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, the business conference will draw about 2,000delegates from Greater China, making it one of the region's biggest yet business delegation to Saudi Arabia.

The gathering between the world's second-largest economy and Gulf energy giants has repercussions of economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions, which have made fundraising and expansion challenging for many Chinese funds and companies.