ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 23, 1990                   TAG: 9007230049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BEIJING                                LENGTH: Short

CHINA AND SAUDI ARABIA START DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

China and Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that they had established diplomatic relations. The move was expected, but it came sooner than some diplomats had foreseen.

For Saudi Arabia, it was the first time it has established diplomatic relations with a communist government.

Although the Saudis did not say directly that they would break relations with Taiwan, China usually demands such action as a prerequisite for formal recognition.

China has been building its international relations, seeking to end the political isolation that began when its military killed hundreds of demonstrators in a pro-democracy movement last year. - The New York Times 


 by CNB