RIYADH, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco and China's largest oil refiner Sinopec signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday in Riyadh to deepen their long-term cooperation through joint ventures, according to an Aramco press release sent to Xinhua.

Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream Mohammed Al Qahtani said the MoU would help further advance the strategic relationship with Sinopec into key areas of mutual benefit in the kingdom.

For his part, President of Sinopec Yu Baocai said the signing of the MoU introduces a new chapter of the partnership in the kingdom.

The two companies will join hands in renewing vitality and scoring new progress in China's Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, Yu added.

The cooperation between Aramco and Sinopec covers wide-ranging areas such as assessing refining and petrochemical integration opportunities, engineering, procurement and construction, oilfield services, upstream and downstream technologies, and collaboration across carbon capture and hydrogen production processes.

The two companies will also discuss opportunities for the establishment of a manufacturing hub in King Salman Energy Park in eastern Saudi Arabia.

This latest collaboration builds on existing joint ventures between the two companies, including Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Company and Sinopec Senmei (Fujian) Petroleum Company in China, and the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company in Saudi Arabia.