China seeks stronger ties with Arab nations

At expo, State councilor emphasizes importance of increasing investments

China's Belt and Road Initiative is an ideal facilitator for the nation to further a wide range of cooperation with Arab states, a senior Chinese official said.

State Councilor Guo Shengkun said on Thursday that China and a number of Arab states have historically had sound relations as a result of the ancient Silk Road.

He made his remarks at the ongoing 2015 China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

More than 80 ministerial officials from 86 countries and regions as well as leaders from international organizations are taking part in the expo, according to local authorities.

President Xi Jinping said in a letter of congratulations to the expo that "China and Arab countries are friends that trust each other, and good partners who hold hands together on a road of mutual development."

Guo said in his keynote speech at the expo that China and Arab nations have been working to create mutually beneficial ties despite differences in political systems.

Trade between China and the countries in the region increased from $10 million in the 1950s, when China started diplomatic ties with the region, to $251.2 billion in 2014. China is the second-largest trading partner with Arab countries.

"The scale of investment has been increasing, with investment in more areas. In a global context when the global economic recovery and demand are weak, trade and cooperation between China and Arab countries will provide unlimited driving forces for economic development," Guo said.

He added that the people-to-people communications and channels have become more diversified, too.

In 2014, over 14,000 students from Arab nations studied in China, a rise of 11.7 percent from the previous year. China also trained over 20,000 officials and technicians in nine Arab countries through 11 Confucius Institutes.

China received 340,000 tourists from the Arab community and approximately a million Chinese people visited Arab destinations in 2014.

"Those activities draw our hearts closer and set the best practices that different civilizations can maintain their differences while achieving a common goal and for mutual development," Guo said.

Badre Eddine Allali, assistant secretary general with the League of Arab States, said developing China-Arab relations has become one of the core strategies for the league.

"Though the international and domestic situations within Arab countries are changing dramatically, China and the Arab community can always understand, support and trust each other."

Fouad Mohadji, vice-president of the Union of Comoros, said "the expo will provide a wide platform for the two sides to cooperate and consult for mutual benefits".

Since 2010, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, which has a large Muslim population, has hosted the China Arab Economic Forum on three occasions. The forum was upgraded to a State-level expo in 2013.

Over 37,000 delegates representing 6,200 international and domestic companies and organizations have participated in the three forums.

Li Jianhua, Party chief of Ningxia, vowed on Thursday that the region will make greater efforts to speed up the construction of economic-based routes linking China and the Arab world. The aim, he said, is to "construct platforms for senior level dialogue, for communications on policies among countries along the ancient Silk Road, for bilateral trade, and for Chinese provinces to open up to the West."

Contact the writers through wanghuazhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/12/2015 page10)