Ambassador Li Chen: The China-Arab Cooperation Forum launches a new chapter in its friendship with the Arabs

The China-Arab Cooperation Forum is writing a new chapter in its friendship with the Arabs through the next session of the forum’s ministerial meeting, which will be held soon in Beijing and is of great importance to both the Arab and Chinese sides, as the current year marks the twentieth anniversary of the launch of the forum. The forum document was signed between the Arab and Chinese sides in 2004, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the Arab countries and China in the fields of economy, trade, culture, tourism, education, etc.

The relations of the two sides witnessed, In the wake of this, important developments occurred at many levels and in diverse fields; So that the relations of the two sides have developed further and moved to more advanced stages.

This clearly reflects the importance and role of the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum with regard to the relations of the two parties.

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In a meeting held by Ambassador Li Chen, Ambassador for the Affairs of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with an Egyptian media delegation in the capital, Beijing, Chen confirmed that the forum is a platform for strengthening bilateral relations between Arab countries and China, and deepening mutual understanding and cooperation. The Chinese official pointed out that over the past twenty years, the forum has contributed to deepening this cooperation in many fields by launching various mechanisms that helped achieve This goal is such that Arab-Chinese cooperation within the framework of the forum constitutes one of the most prominent and successful experiences of trans-regional cooperation.

Chen said: The establishment of the Cooperation Forum between China and Arab countries was a decision A strategy taken by China and the Arab countries based on the long-term development of Chinese-Arab relations. On January 30, 2004, China and the League of Arab States jointly announced the establishment of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, and issued a “Joint Statement on the Establishment of the China-Arab Countries Cooperation Forum.” On September 14, 2004, the first session of the ministerial meeting of the forum was held at the headquarters of the League of Arab States, which symbolized the official activation of the forum, with its goal being to enhance dialogue and cooperation between China and the Arab countries and to support peace and development.

He added: After developing and building over the past twenty years, 19 mechanisms have been established within the framework of the forum covering wide-ranging areas such as politics, economy, trade, energy, culture, science, technology, health, media and popular communication, and include the ministerial meeting, the meeting of senior officials and dialogue. Strategic policy at the level of senior officials, the Symposium on Sino-Arab Relations, Dialogue between Chinese and Arab Civilizations, the Sino-Arab Forum for Reform and Development, the Chinese-Arab Businessmen Conference, the Investment Symposium, the Sino-Arab Cooperation Conference in the Field of Energy, the Sino-Arab Arts Festival, the Sino-Arab Cooperation Symposium in the Field of Media, the Sino-Arab Friendship Conference, and the Sino-Arab Friendship Forum. China-Arab Cities and the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in the Field of Satellite Navigation “Beidou” The Forum for Chinese and Arab Women, the Forum for Chinese-Arab Cooperation in the Field of Health, the Forum for Chinese-Arab Cooperation in the Field of Radio and Television, the Chinese-Arab Cooperation Conference for Technology Transfer and Creativity, the Meeting of Chinese and Arab Experts in the Field of Libraries and Information, the Chinese-Arab Youth Development Forum, and the Chinese-Arab Association of Intellectual Institutions. Until 2024, the Forum has issued 85 final documents of various types, and has become an effective tool for enriching the components of China-Arab strategic partnership relations and advancing practical cooperation between China and Arab countries, and an important platform for dialogue on an equal footing and strengthening practical cooperation between the Chinese and Arab sides, and has made prominent contributions to Strengthening Chinese-Arab relations.

Chen stated: The past twenty years since the founding of the forum are the most active period in terms of high-level exchanges between the Chinese and Arab sides, as the leaders of both Chinese and Arab sides are interested in The Arab League has a great interest in developing and building the forum, and they draw broad lines and determine the direction for ways to improve the level of Chinese-Arab relations and collective cooperation between China and the Arab countries.

In 2014, President Xi Jinping attended the session. The opening of the sixth session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in Beijing, where he proposed for the first time the building of the Chinese-Arab community for the common interest and common future, and the formation of the “3+2+1” cooperation equation. By taking the energy field as the main focus, the fields of infrastructure and trade and investment facilitation as two wings, and 3 fields with advanced and modern technology, including nuclear energy, space, satellites, and new energy as penetration points.

And in 2016 President Xi Jinping visited the headquarters of the Arab League and delivered an important speech, in which he comprehensively and systematically shed light on China’s policy towards the Middle East in the new phase, drew broad outlines for the development of Chinese-Arab relations, and presented the four business plan regarding the participation of China and the Arab countries in building… The “Belt and Road” Initiative, which is to raise the banner of peace and dialogue and undertake work to enhance stability, strengthen structural adjustments and undertake work for creative cooperation, and take measures to achieve integration in the field of production capacity in order to accelerate the pace of the industrial process in the Middle East, and call for communication and mutual benefit between civilizations and take measures to enhance friendship.

As in 2018, President Xi Jinping attended the opening session of the 8th session of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing, where he stressed the need to grasp interconnectedness and communication. As a “locomotive”, working to advance cooperation in the fields of oil, gas and low-carbon energy as the “two wheels”, and working to develop cooperation in the fields of finance and advanced and modern technology as the “wings”.

< p>In December 2022, the first China-Arab Summit was successfully held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the presence of President Xi Jinping and leaders of Arab countries, where they unanimously agreed to work with all efforts to build the Chinese-Arab community for a common future towards the new era.

The summit adopted three final documents: “The Riyadh Declaration – The First Sino-Arab Summit” “The broad outlines of the comprehensive cooperation plan between China and the Arab countries.” And the “Document on Deepening the Chinese-Arab Strategic Partnership for Peace and Development.”

In his speech, President Xi Jinping distilled the spirit of Chinese-Arab friendship represented by “solidarity, synergy, equality, mutual benefit and inclusiveness.” and mutual benefit,” and proposed the “eight joint actions” For practical cooperation that covers many areas such as supporting development, food security, health, green development, innovation, energy security, dialogue among civilizations, youth training, security and stability.

After the summit, the Chinese and Arab sides are working to implement The outcomes of diplomacy at the summit level, and they have consistently achieved important achievements. The first China-Arab Summit has injected great impetus into the development of China-Arab relations and the building of the forum in the new phase.

He pointed out that over the past 20 years, China-Arab relations have achieved " “triple jump”, any of the “partnership relationships” To "strategic cooperation relations" And to “strategic partnership relations”.

At the first session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in 2004, China and the League of Arab States agreed to establish partnership relations based on equality and comprehensive cooperation. At the fourth session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in 2010, the two sides announced the establishment of China-Arab strategic cooperation relations based on comprehensive cooperation and common development. At the eighth session of the ministerial meeting of the forum in 2018, relations between the two sides were upgraded to a China-Arab strategic partnership based on comprehensive cooperation and common development for a better future. To date, comprehensive strategic partnership relations have been established between China and 4 Arab countries, namely Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates, and strategic partnership relations have been established between China and 10 Arab countries, namely Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco, Oman, Djibouti, Kuwait, Palestine, and Syria, in addition to the League of Arab States. 13 Arab countries have joined the “Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative,” and 3 Arab countries have become “new members” of the BRICS mechanism, and 6 Arab countries became dialogue partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

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