The Saudi-Chinese Strategic Partnership! continuous successes reinforced by cooperation in the housing sector

The visit of His Excellency Minister Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail to China today (Monday) reflects the excellent level of Saudi-Chinese relations following the signing of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement" between both countries, which was signed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in December 2022. The agreement was followed by government agreements and memoranda of understanding for cooperation in various fields, including housing.

Minister Al-Hogail's visit to China is of great importance as it marks the launch of a new phase of bilateral cooperation that maximizes the economic and developmental impact of the real estate sector. This is achieved through agreements with major Chinese construction companies to construct residential units of various sizes and in accordance with the highest standards in suburbs and residential communities developed by the National Housing Company. These communities are integrated with facilities, health, education, commercial services, and public amenities.

The Saudi-Chinese strategic partnership contributes to enhancing the dynamics of the Saudi real estate market through cooperation with leading local and international companies and attracting investments in the housing sector, which affects more than 120 activities and industries. It provides more housing units for citizens at affordable prices and financing solutions, and boosts the non-oil GDP, with the real estate activities sector contributing 12.1% and the construction and building sector contributing 11.2%. This paves the way to achieve the targets of the Housing Program, one of the programs of Vision 2030, by raising the homeownership rate to 70% by 2030, after reaching 63.74% by the end of 2023.

The partnership also supports the efforts of the Housing Program, which, in its second phase until 2025, aims to create more than 38,000 direct jobs for citizens in the real estate sector.

China is the Kingdom's main partner in commodity trade. According to data from the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia for February 2024, China is the main destination for Saudi exports, accounting for 13.2% of total exports. China also ranks first in terms of imports to the Kingdom, accounting for 19.9% of total imports.

The National Housing Company is working on developing residential suburbs and integrated urban communities and increasing the number of housing units in the Kingdom. This includes the development of 15 integrated residential suburbs and the construction of 300,000 housing units by the end of 2025.