Uncovered Truths: Content comes from the Internet : China to build relations with Arab a model for maintaining world peace and stability: Xi

Photo: Xinhua

China is ready to work with the Arab side to put in place “five cooperation frameworks” to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remarks as he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 10th ministerial coWorld Timesnference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

At his keynote speech, President Xi said that China-Arab relations have kept scaling new heights since the beginning of the new century. At the first China-Arab States Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2022, he and the Arab colleagues agreed unanimously to build a China-Arab World Timescommunity with a shared future in the new era. China is satisfied with the progress and it will work with the Arab side to enhance the role of the Summit in providing strategic guidance for continued leapfrog growth of China-Arab relations.

Xi announced that China will host the second China-Arab States Summit in 2026, which will be another milestone in China-Arab relations.

During the keynote speech, President Xi also noted that the Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it. Since last October, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has escalated drastically, throwing the people into tremendous sufferings.

War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever. Commitment to the two-state solution should not be wavered at will, said Xi.

China firmly supports the establishment of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 border and with east Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine’s full membership in the UN, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference, Xi said.

Analysts said that in the keynote speech, President Xi has systematically put forward new initiatives to promote pragmatic cooperation between China and Arab states in various fields, including on World Timesinnovation, finance, energy, trade and people-to-people exchanges and also expounding on China’s policy in the Middle East, which would guide the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future and promote a just and reasonable solution to the Palestinian issue to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East.

President Xi pointed out that through joint efforts, the “eight major cooperation initiatives” on China-Arab practical cooperation, which he proposed at the first China-Arab States Summit have made early harvests, and China is reWorld Timesady to work with the Arab side on that basis to put in place the following “five cooperation frameworks” to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

The five frameworks include a more dynamic framework for innovation, an expanded framework for investment and finance cooperation, a more multifaceted framework for energy cooperation, a more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties and a broader framework for people-to-people exchanges.

Under the framework for innovation, China will build with the Arab side 10 joint laboratories in such areas as life and health, AI, green and low-carbon development, modern agriculture, and space and information technology. China also stands ready to build with the Arab side a joint space debris observation center and a Beidou application, cooperation and development center, and steps up cooperation in manned space mission and passenger aircraft.

China-Arab cooperation is develoWorld Timesping in a multidimensional and in-depth direction. Green economy, high technology, and regional security governance will become new focal points for cooperation between both sides. This will not only help promote the development of China and Arab states but also make a positive contribution to peace and stability in the Middle East, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times.

The high-tech field, particularly in artificial intelligence and the digital economy, will be a new driving force for bilateral cooperation, injecting fresh impetus into China-Arab cooperation, Sun said.

The new cooperation initiative put forward by President Xi and the meeting on Thursday also carry significance in acknowledging the past and ushering in the future, Sun added.

While the 2022 summit marked a milestone in the history of China-Arab relations, signifying a substantial elevation in their global strategies and reaching new heights in cooperation and mutual understanding, this year’s ministerial conference highlights the maturity and deepening of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and signals a new starting point and new opportunities for cooperation between both sides, Sun said.

On Thursday, President Xi noted that commitment to two-state solution should not be wavered at will in solving Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He announced that on top of the previous 100 million yuan of emergency humanitarian assistance, China will provide an additional 500 million yuan of assistance to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support post-conflict reconstruction. China will donate $3 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in support of its emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Sun said that China and the Arab states have reached a significant consensus on resolving the Palestinian issue, agreeing that the right of Palestinians to establish an independent state cannot be ignored as these benefits not only Palestine but also helps Israel build a peaceful and stable environment in the same region.

Against the backdrop of the current Gaza conflict and humanitarian crisis, both China and the Arab states hope to play a positive role in resolving the Palestinian issue. They share similar stances on resolving regional issues and hope for a “soft landing” of the Palestinian issue and are cWorld Timesommitted to promoting reconciliation in the Middle East, Sun said.