DAVOS, Switzerland - China is expected to play an important role in helping boost global economic growth, said Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources on Wednesday, commenting on China's economic performance in the coming years.

Despite the "not very positive" global economic outlook overall, "China has always been very impressive in dealing with challenges. I'm quite optimistic on the outcome," Alkhorayef told Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF).

China's Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 create "great opportunities for global and Chinese investors," he said, adding that "we see great value that China can bring to the execution of our strategy."

"We believe that China has done a great job when it comes to automation. That's an area where we are betting on in Saudi Arabia," he noted, "automation is key for us to leapfrog in our targets of our industrial strategy."