Meeting lays down track for Belt, Road

The eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum next week is expected to lay down concrete and workable road maps for China and Arab nations to build the Belt and Road, a foreign ministry official said on Friday.

Chen Xiaodong, assistant foreign minister, told reporters the meeting is expected to pass the Beijing Declaration and an action plan for 2018-20 covering more than 10 cooperative areas.

President Xi Jinping will address the opening of the meeting on Tuesday and put forward initiatives to further reinforce Belt and Road cooperation.

"Many measures will be highly forward-looking, innovative and pioneering," he said.

It will be the third time Xi has make a policy announcement to the Arab world, and it is a demonstration of the importance China attaches to the development of China-Arab relations as well as development of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Chen said.

Chen said Xi will elaborate China's position on further enhancing the top-level design of bilateral relations and planning collective cooperation and guidance of the forum's development.

"This will chart the course as well as provide fundamental principles for the development of China-Arab relations for the new era," Chen said.

"We believe the speech will inject new momentum for the development of China-Arab relations, and light up a new vision for China-Arab cooperation," he said.

Xi is also expected to elaborate on the China plan and efforts in light of prominent problems faced by the Middle East and the demands of various parties, Chen said.

The meeting will be attended by 21 foreign ministers or ministerial-level officials from Arab states, as well as Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil el-Araby.