President Xi has said China would continue to support alleviating the humanitarian crisis, and post-conflict rebuilding in Gaza, pledging to provide another 500 million yuan ($69m) in emergency humanitarian assistance, Reuters reports.

China will also donate $3m to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Near East to support its emergency assistance to the Gaza region, Xi said.

He said China would further cooperate with Arab states on several fronts including in the oil and gas fields, as well as larger-scale investments.

Xi committed support for Chinese energy companies and financial institutions to participate in renewable energy projects with a total installed capacity of more than 3m kilowatts in Arab countries.

China is a massive buyer of Gulf energy and in 2023 bilateral trade between China and the Gulf stood at $286.9 billion, according to Chinese customs data, with Saudi Arabia accounting for nearly 40 per cent of that trade.