Arab Gulf countries, strategic partners of Washington, are bolstering ties with China as part of an eastward turn that involves diversifying their fossil fuel-heavy economies. 

As a Gulf-China summit takes place in Riyadh on Friday, AFP examines key areas of economic cooperation between the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and the world's second-largest economy. 

South Korea's government expanded its back-to-work orders Thursday against thousands of cargo truck drivers who are staging a nationwide walkout over freight fare issues, saying a prolonged strike could inflict "deep scars" on the country's economy.

The "work start" orders on steel and fuel truckers were inevitable because the strike could begin to hurt major export industries like automobiles and shipbuilding if it extends further, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said in a news conference.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince on Thursday on an Arab outreach visit that will yield billions of dollars in deals and has earned a rebuke from Washington. 

About $30 billion in agreements will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term U.S. allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances. 

Lebanon's once burgeoning banking sector has been hard hit by the country's historic economic meltdown. It has suffered staggering losses worth tens of billions of dollars and many of the small nation's lenders now face possible closures or mergers.

Yet bankers have been resisting attempts to make their shareholders assume responsibility for those losses and instead have been trying to shift the burden to the government or even their own depositors. The country's political class, blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement that led to the meltdown, has also resisted reforms.

Uber users in Las Vegas can now ride in fully autonomous vehicles, as the ride-hailing app on Wednesday began its partnership with Motional, a driverless technology company.

A newly founded Japanese semiconductor company aiming to revive Japan's chip industry will collaborate with a Belgian research organization in research and development of next-generation chips for production in Japan.

Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters Tuesday that the new company, Rapidus, which was launched last month by eight corporate giants including automakers, electronics and chipmakers, will team up with the Imec, a Leuven, Belgium-based research organization known for the nanoelectronics and digital technologies key to developing next-generation chips.

World stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday after Wall Street pulled back as surprisingly strong economic reports highlighted the challenges the Federal Reserve faces in battling inflation.

Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to 14,421.84 and the CAC 40 in Paris also was down 0.2%, at 6,682.03. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 6,679.98. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials were 0.1% lower.

Australia's central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 3.1% as it continues trying to wrestle down inflation.

The increase was the bank's eighth in a row and took the rate to its highest level in 10 years.

Libya's state energy firm urged its foreign oil and gas partners to resume exploration and production Tuesday assuring them security had begun to improve dramatically after clashes earlier this year.

The Finance and Budget parliamentary committee, headed by MP Ibrahim Kanaan, convened Tuesday to discuss circulars and decisions issued by Finance Minister Youssef Khalil.

After listening to the minister, the committee decided to delay the implementation of two salary taxes resolutions.