Energy, infrastructure, along with trade and investment to form mainstay of links

President Xi Jinping outlined a blueprint for greater cooperation with Arab states on Thursday, describing them as "natural partners" in regional development projects, a Silk Road economic belt and a maritime Silk Road.

Xi said China and Arab nations should establish a cooperative framework centered on energy cooperation, with infrastructure along with trade and investment as "two pillars", and aim for high-tech breakthroughs in nuclear energy, aerospace and new energy.