of China occurred in 1999, when the CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin visited Riyadh, which resulted in the mutual signing of the 1999 Strategic Oil Cooperation agreement. The agreement stipulated that the PRC would open its oil refinery sector to Saudi Arabia if Saudi Arabia would allow for exploration and development opportunities for Chinese investors. While the agreement acted as a starting point for bilateral relations, the results of the agreement were small, as China was not able to use most of the sour crude oil provided by Saudi Arabia's new reserves in Chinese refining facilities. China-Saudi diplomatic and economic relations grew closer in the 2000s. In 2004, the People's Republic of China and Saudi Arabia initiated a series of regular political meetings. During the same year, Sinopec, China's state-run oil company, signed an agreement to explore gas in the Empty Quarter (Rub' al Khali) in Saudi Arabia. Then, in December 2005, the People's Republic of China and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held their first set of formal talks. In January 2006, King Abdullah was the first ever Saudi head of State to visit China. While in China, King Abdullah signed five major agreements on energy cooperation. The visit was also used as a way to discuss broader economic trade, taxation and technical accords, a vocational training agreement, as well as to finalize an urban development loan for the Saudi Arabian Development Bank in China's Xinjiang province. CCP general secretary Hu Jintao exclaimed that this bilateral cooperation would "write a new chapter of friendly cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia in the new century." His visit was reciprocated by Chinese leader Hu Jintao on April 22 of the same year, as part of a world tour. Hu Jintao was only the second foreign leader in history who was granted permission to address Saudi Arabia's legislative council. During this time, the two leaders supposedly signed several agreements regarding further energy exploration and security collaboration. It is said that Saudi Arabia views economic ties with the PRC in a favorable light because they come with "no strings attached" and focus on economic issues rather than political ones. His only mention of non-economical related affairs was, "war and military force is never a permanent solution to a problem," advising to "persist with a just and fair handling of conflicts and bridging of differences through political means." He did not touch