Sultan Haitham of Oman arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening to begin a two-day state visit to China. Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, went to the airport to pick up the plane as a representative of senior Chinese officials, highlighting China's willingness to strengthen financial cooperation with Oman. This visit is Haitham's first visit to China since he succeeded Sudan, and it is also the first visit to China by an Omani head of state since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Oman 48 years ago.
On Monday (November 2), Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Haitham at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping said that the world today is undergoing "great changes unseen in a century" and the Gulf region in the Middle East should not become a battlefield for great power competition and geopolitical conflicts. China is willing to work with Oman and other countries to work together to restore regional peace and tranquility at an early date. Xi Jinping emphasized that China and Afghanistan should enhance political mutual trust, and China is willing to deepen the docking of development strategies with Afghanistan and promote cooperation in energy, industry, investment, artificial intelligence, etc.
Last week, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would send a special envoy to the Middle East in the near future with the aim of promoting contacts between all parties and de-escalating the situation.
According to Oman’s official media reports, Haitham told Xi Jinping that the Omani government highly appreciates China’s stance on major issues involving the region. He said: "The prosperity of the country requires an environment characterized by security, peace, respect for national sovereignty and compliance with international law. Disputes should be resolved through peaceful means." He also said that Oman has an open attitude and is willing to negotiate and sign a bilateral trade and investment preferential agreement with China.
After the talks, Xi Jinping and Haitham jointly witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents in the fields of industrial supply chain, green development, digital finance and other fields.
Deepen strategic partnerships
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang also met with Sultan Haitham. The two countries later issued a joint statement on deepening their strategic partnership, which included the two sides agreeing to deepen the strategic alignment between the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative and Oman's "Vision 2040", strengthen two-way investment cooperation, deepen cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence, carry out cooperation in the aerospace field, and "are willing to take the signing of the local currency swap agreement as an opportunity to deepen financial cooperation." The two sides also emphasized promoting the early conclusion of a free trade agreement between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
In addition, the joint statement also emphasized that the two sides agreed to continue to support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. Afghanistan supports Xi Jinping's concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, as well as major initiatives such as high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road". The two sides are firmly committed to maintaining the international system with the United Nations at its core, practicing true multilateralism, and encouraging the United States and Iran to adhere to peaceful options and achieve a comprehensive ceasefire and cessation of war as soon as possible. "Both sides believe that normal and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz should be restored and they agree to maintain communication on issues related to the Strait." The statement also called on all parties involved in the Yemeni issue to put the interests of the Yemeni people first and persist in resolving differences through dialogue and consultation. Yemen, which has long been plagued by war, is Amman's neighbor.
China is Oman's largest trading partner. Oman is China's fourth largest trading partner among Arab countries. Bilateral trade volume in 2025 will be US$32.87 billion. China mainly imports crude oil, liquefied natural gas, etc. from Oman, while China's exports to Oman are mainly mechanical and electrical products, steel, new energy equipment, and high-tech products. China and Oman established a strategic partnership in 2018. Since the launch of direct flights between Beijing and Muscat in November last year, ties between the two countries in the fields of tourism and business have been further strengthened.
