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Bilateral trade between China and Saudi-Arabia could "far exceed" the goal of $60 billion by 2015 and further strengthen trade ties with the Middle Eastern region, said experts yesterday.

During his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, the world's major oil exporter and also the largest oil supplier to China, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said "both sides want to increase trade volume to $60 billion by 2015 after the target of $40 billion (for 2010) was reached ahead of time in 2008".

"It (the goal) is a conservative estimate. There is high possibility that the China-Saudi Arabia trade would far exceed the target by 2015, as bilateral relations are getting stronger and the two nations' industries are highly complementary," said Tang Zhichao, director of Middle East Studies with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

During the 2003-08 period, China-Saudi Arabia trade registered annual growth rates of 30 to 50 percent. In 2008, bilateral trade surged by 64.7 percent to $41.8 billion, two years ahead of the goal set in 2006.

Trade between the two regions during the first half of 2009 was only $12.71 billion, hurt largely by the global financial crisis. The figure for last year is expected to "fall from a year earlier", said Zheng Dayong, China's former ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

"This is the best time for growth in China-Saudi Arabian trade," he said.

China exports textiles, mechanical and electrical products to Saudi Arabia, still in small volumes, but imports large quantity of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, leading to a trade deficit with the Arab nation. China's crude oil imports rose by over 12 percent last year to 800,000 barrels per day.

"The deficit situation cannot be changed in the short term," Zheng said.

During 2009, China's crude oil imports increased by 13.9 percent to 200 million tons, but the price on average fell by 39.4 percent to $438 per ton, said the Customs.

Saudi Arbaia's Finance Minister Arabia Ibrahim al-Assaf said his country wants to increase "exports of oil and non-oil products to China" and "boost bilateral investments". He also said both countries hoped to "end a conflict over anti-dumping measures imposed by China on some petrochemicals products."