China and Saudi Arabia have agreed to set up a joint security commission, in the latest sign of growing ties between the two countries, the kingdom’s official SPA news agency reported Monday.

Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu and his counterpart Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz signed a letter of intent Sunday on security training and exchanges.

They also agreed to form a joint body of “high-level security officials” to boost cooperation in the field, SPA said.

Meng and a large entourage of senior Chinese security and counter-terror officials met with King Abdullah, Prince Nayef and other senior Saudi officials Sunday on the second of a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Meng visited the Nayef Arab University for Security Sciences for talks on cooperation with Chinese institutes, and he was scheduled Monday to hold talks with Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.

The visit underscored the improvement in political and economic relations between the two countries since Abdullah became king in August 2005.

Abdullah’s first trip abroad was to China, and he was the first Saudi king ever to visit the Asian giant, in a move which symbolised the king’s push to diversify Saudi alliances away from its traditional US and British partners. Since then China has become the kingdom’s largest customer for oil and a key partner in petrochemicals as well.

Meng had signed a pact with United Arab Emirates deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahayan last Thursday on counter-terror and crime-fighting cooperation, the UAE news agency WAM said.