Zayani held talks in Saudi Arabia with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and expressed "GCC interest in bolstering friendship and cooperation ties with China," a GCC statement said.
Wang was quoted as saying that Beijing wants to "expand economic, trade and investment relations" with GCC countries and spoke of the "strategic cooperation and relations (it has) with the GCC".
Wang arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour during which he also visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Morocco and Algeria.
Gulf monarchies are wary of Washington's reluctance to provide military support to Syrian rebels and for its openness towards their regional archfoe Iran, and are looking to improve ties with other nations.
The Sunni-ruled monarchies, like Western powers, fear that Iran may develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its disputed nuclear programme, which Iran insists is for peaceful purposes only.
China, and the United States, are among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which along with Germany, negotiated a landmark nuclear deal with Iran.
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