Arab World and China Cooperation and News.

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Forum held to boost China-Arab tourism ties

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]


Zhang Xu, deputy minister of culture and tourism, delivers a speech at the 2019 China-Arab States Tourism Cooperation Forum, Nov 19, 2019.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
To elevate tourism ties between China and Arab countries to a new level, the 2019 China-Arab States Tourism Cooperation Forum was held in Beijing on Nov 19.

"I hope all the participants can jointly explore the future opportunities as well as the core and direction in Sino-Arab tourism cooperation. We could build a multi-lateral mechanism and platform to deepen tourism ties between China and Arab states,” Zhang Xu, deputy minister of culture and tourism, said in his opening remarks.

The forum, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Beijing International Studies University and China Arts and Entertainment Group, covered a wide range of activities, including an opening ceremony, seminars, meetings of senior officials, etc. The event attracted delegates from 19 countries, such as Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, representatives from academia, travel agencies and governmental tour operators to discuss the cooperation potential in tourism sector and people-to-people exchanges between China and Arab countries.

A the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held last year, China and Arab countries agreed to establish a "Sino-Arab future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development". Arab countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates have wooed Chinese tourists with visa-free policies.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201911/20/WS5dd4d51ca310cf3e35578b8d_2.html

Saudi Arabia, China conduct drill to improve combat readiness

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Updated 17 November 2019
SPA

• The exercise targets building mutual trust, enhancing cooperation between the Saudi Royal Navy and the Chinese PLA Navy, exchanging experiences, developing the capacity of participants to combat maritime terrorism and piracy

JEDDAH: The Royal Saudi Naval Forces, represented by the Special Forces of the Western Fleet, carried out the mixed naval exercise Blue Sword 2019 with its Chinese counterpart, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, in Jeddah on Sunday.
The exercise, which took place at King Faisal Naval Base, was attended by the commander of the Western Fleet, Vice Admiral Faleh bin Abdulrahman Al-Faleh, and the Chinese military attache to the Kingdom, Senior Col. Lin Li.
Navy Col. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Omari, director of the exercise, said that this joint exercise is within the framework of seeking to face all challenges, emphasize the many objectives aimed at achieving complete readiness, and maintain the security and peace of the region and the world.
“The exercise targets building mutual trust, enhancing cooperation between the Saudi Royal Navy and the Chinese PLA Navy, exchanging experiences, developing the capacity of participants to combat maritime terrorism and piracy, and improving training and combat readiness,” he added.
Lt. Col. Tarek bin Salem Al-Salem, adjutant of the exercise’s operations, presented a visual briefing on the activities, fields, title and phases of the exercise.
Al-Faleh then announced the launch of the joint naval exercise, Blue Sword 2019, which runs for three weeks.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1585431/saudi-arabia

China’s growing interest in Saudi Aramco is part of a long game

https://www.euractiv.com/section/en...erest-in-saudi-aramco-is-part-of-a-long-game/

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Saudis swing behind China in battle with coronavirus
February 09, 2020

• Thousands of messages throwing support for China sent via social media
• The virus has infected nearly 35,000 people and killed 725, almost all in China

JEDDAH: Saudi citizens have swung behind China as it battles to contain the new coronavirus outbreak.

A hashtag in Chinese that translates to “We stand with the great people of China” has been circulating on Saudi social media accounts for three days, with thousands of messages of support.

Posts included: “Don’t give up, China. Don’t let the virus discourage you. We wish a speedy recovery to all those affected. We will always stand with you.”

The Saudi backing was welcomed by the Chinese Embassy in Riyadh, which responded: “Thank you very much for the hashtag. We would like to say, ‘We stand with the great people of Saudi Arabia’.”

The virus has infected nearly 35,000 people and killed 725, almost all in China, since the first case in Wuhan in Hubei province on Dec. 1. The UAE reported two more cases on Saturday, bringing the total there to seven.

However, the number of cases being reported in China is stabilizing, the World Health Organization said on Saturday. The UN health agency said this was “good news,” but cautioned that it was too early to make any predictions about whether the virus had peaked.

“We’re in a four-day stable period where the number of reported cases hasn’t advanced,” said Michael Ryan, head of the agency’s Health Emergencies Program. “That’s good news and may reflect the impact of the control measures that have been put in place.”

Hubei province is in virtual lockdown and many countries, including Saudi Arabia, have severely restricted travel to and from China.

Agency chief Tedros Adhanom warned against misinformation. “We’re not just battling the virus, we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists who push misinformation and undermine our response,” he said.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1625021/saudi-arabia

Saudi King Salman orders urgent aid to China to fight coronavirus
Reuters/Spa/Beijing
Filed on February 6, 2020

China has achieved "positive" results in its prevention and control efforts in fighting the new coronavirus, President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's King Salman by telephone, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

The two discussed "efforts to combat and control the novel coronavirus epidemic", the report said.

China has declared a "people's war" on the virus and the whole nation is working as one to combat it, Xi said.

"China has a strong mobilisation capacity, rich experience in responding to public health incidents and is confident and capable of winning the battle for epidemic prevention and control," the report paraphrased him as saying.

China hopes countries respect and understand the World Health Organization's guidance on travel, Xi said.

Saudi Arabia' King Salman, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, ordered the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action to send urgent aid to China in its fight against coronavirus.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1225433175045832706

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday there was no need for measures that "unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade" in trying to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

China will continue to take an open and transparent approach towards dealing with the virus, Xi added.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/corona...ders-urgent-aid-to-china-to-fight-coronavirus

Beijing envoy welcomes Saudi Arabia’s help in virus fight
February 2020
RIYADH: China has praised Saudi Arabia for its help in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, saying the Kingdom had offered “great moral and material support” in the wake of the health crisis.

“Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Saudi Arabia has been of great support to China,” Chen Weiqing, the Chinese ambassador to the Kingdom, told Arab News.

A Cabinet meeting last week chaired by King Salman expressed the Kingdom’s concern for China’s welfare, while Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan phoned his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to reiterate the Kingdom’s support.

“I extend my appreciation and gratitude to King Salman, and the Saudi government and people,” the envoy said.
The Chinese ambassador said many countries, including Egypt, “offered us moral and material support to contain the coronavirus epidemic, and we are grateful for all forms of valuable support.”

Saudi Arabia flew 10 students from Wuhan, the center of the epidemic, back to Riyadh, with China “providing full support and facilitation,” according to the envoy.

“For those who decide to stay in China, we will spare no effort to safeguard the life and health of foreign nationals, including our Saudi friends, and take effective measures to address their concerns and needs in a timely manner,” Chen said.

“China has the confidence and ability to control the epidemic in the near future, with lower costs. We welcome our Saudi friends to China for education, business and tourism after the virus is contained. The outlook for the Chinese economy remains steady and positive, and China-Saudi cooperation will not to be affected in the long term.”
Preliminary tests on the 10 Saudi students showed no signs of viral infection.

The envoy said he planned to invite the students to the Chinese Embassy after their two-week quarantine was complete.


Saudi FM says fully confident of China's fight against novel coronavirus

Xinhua, February 4, 2020

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- China will eventually win the fight against the novel coronavirus, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Monday.

In a phone conversation with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Faisal, on behalf of the Saudi government and people, said Saudi Arabia supports China in its battle against the epidemic.

Faisal said Saudi Arabia commends China's strong measures to curb the spread of the virus and highly appreciates China's sense of responsibility in the prevention and control of the epidemic.

For his part, Wang thanked Saudi Arabia for its strong support at the critical moment in the fight against the disease, saying that China has set up a nationwide system that has held the Chinese from all walks of life together for an all-out campaign against the epidemic.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has spoken highly of China's strong measures against the epidemic and expressed confidence in China's effort to overcome the challenge, Wang said, noting that WHO has recommended against imposing travel and trade restrictions.

Wang said China is capable and confident of protecting the Chinese people's health and safety, and will continue to take effective measures to ensure the working and living conditions of foreign citizens, including Saudi nationals, in China, so as to make due contributions to the cause of international public health.

Underlining the tradition of mutual support between the two countries, Wang said the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia has been deepening and that practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results in various fields.

Wang said he believes that Saudi Arabia will always stand with China in the fight against the epidemic, adding that the epidemic is temporary while China-Saudi Arabia cooperation and friendship are long-standing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1226867248586948608

Several Saudi Schools, Universities Start Teaching 'Chinese'

Riyadh - Fathelrahman Yousif

An agreement between Saudi Arabia and China to include the Chinese language in the Saudi curriculum at all stages of education in schools and universities across the Kingdom has become effective.

Media adviser at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Riyadh has affirmed in a phone-call with Asharq Al-Awsat that Chinese instructors are currently working at Saudi schools and universities to teach the language.

The agreement was signed during the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to China in 2017.

The adviser noted that the agreement signed between the countries’ ministries of education is a comprehensive deal to bolster cooperation in various education aspects. Teaching the Chinese language is one of the ongoing cooperation aspects - in the education sector - between Beijing and Riyadh.

He added that Beijing intends to dispatch Chinese instructors soon to expand cooperation in teaching the language in some Saudi schools and universities – he noted that there are mutual visits for this matter, and the latest was on February.

This step is significant and it introduces new opportunities for students in Saudi Arabia, given that the Chinese language is a bridge connecting the two nations.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/art...i-schools-universities-start-teaching-chinese

Both Arabic and Mandarin are 2 of the 5 most spoken languages in the world and 2 of the most influential languages in human history and also official languages of the UN.

China is by far the largest trade partner of KSA and the most important strategic partner. Millions of Chinese people speak Arabic and there are even Arabic-speaking government channels. Returning the favor by teaching Mandarin makes sense from an economic viewpoint alone.

 

[Yankee-stani]

China and Russia are probably the most "pragmatic" of all the superpowers having ties with just about everyone

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Saudi Arabia Sends Support for China to Fight the New Coronavirus

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...a-to-fight-the-new-coronavirus-301005971.html

Chinese student commits suicide in Saudi after being quarantined for coronavirus

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...audi-after-being-quarantined-for-coronavirus/


Saudi students returning from China leave quarantine after being declared coronavirus-free

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1628576/saudi-arabia

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Ignore the dubious Xinjiang "camps" nonsense. Written by a Westerner with an obvious biased agenda. Key points are the economic cooperation.

Beijing’s Strategy for Building Bridges with Arab Countries
POLITICS /
Camilla Vitanza
11 APRIL 2020

In November 2019, the New York Times disclosed 400 documents regarding China’s education camps in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, built-in 2017 for the specific purpose of indoctrinating the Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim ethnic group. Although part of the International community recognized the Uyghurs’ “reeducation” as a thinly-disguised mass detention operation, the most influential Arab countries, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, did not adopt a firm position on the issue nor condemn it.

Deng Xiaoping’s Economic Plan
What might appear as a bizarre attitude from the Gulf Countries, has in truth an economic explanation dating back to the second half of the 20th century, when China established diplomatic relations with all 22 Arab countries. At that time, China’s newfound interest in Arab countries matched with its intent of turning itself into a global economic power. By the end of the ‘70s, Deng Xiaoping’s strategy to open up China’s economy to the rest of the world by enhancing foreign investments and international import export trade played a key role in country’s economic development. Deng’s financial policy demonstrated itself to be more efficient than that of his predecessors as he de-collectivized agriculture previously managed by the Communist Party and enabled the household responsibility system. Between 1952 to 1978, China’s annual GDP growth grew to a rating of 6.1, proving the economically positive effects of Deng’s reforms on the real economy.

The Open door policy began in 1978, and membership to the WTO in 2005 significantly shaped China’s economy shifting it from a monopolized State economy to a liberalized free market system, which allowed foreign enterprises to set up in China and operate in Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Since the beginning of the reforms, China’s GDP has risen tenfold, boosting annual growth of a total factor productivity by 3.8%between 1978-2005. A year before China joined the WTO, the China-Arab State Cooperation Forum (CASCF) was created. No surprise then that on the wave of the economic revival, Beijing sought out new partnerships across the Middle East. The CASCF, strongly supported by the then-Chinese President Hu Jintao, followed four essential principles including fostering economic and trade exchanges between China and the Arab League. In just four years, the trade volume between Beijing and Arab nations rocketed, reaching $ 132.9 billion in 2008.

By 2016 Arab Countries Made Up One of China’s Top Trading Partners
The economic alliance comprised of annual official meetings to strengthen diplomatic relations between both blocks, as well as Entrepreneurs Conferences and dialogue seminars. The main purpose of China’s investment policy in Arab countries was engendered by the supplies of crude oil and natural gas available in those countries. In 2016 China superseded the US as the world’s largest importer of crude oil, and by September 2019, China imported roughly 10 million barrels per day. As domestic production was not sufficient to meet internal demand, China started to import crude oil by the of the ‘90s, addressing its needs in South East Asia and neighbouring countries. In 2016, Arab countries became the seventh-largest trading partners of China, as Beijing established a strategic tie with Gulf countries as part of the dialogue with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

However, China always appeared to be the most advantaged partner in international trades, as the overall Saudi Arabia imports from China in 2015 were worth US$ 24,655 million in 2015, slightly below Saudi Arabia exports to China in the same year, accounting for US$ 5,729 million. There were similar stories for other Gulf countries, such as Oman and UAE. Oman’s exports to China in 2015 accounted for US$ 1,330 million, while its imports from China came to US$ 3,739 million. China is not even included among the top five countries in terms of UAE exports, yet the UAE imports from China in 2015 accounted for US$ 22,845 million. Currently, Saudi Arabia is the second-largest provider of crude oil to China, with a value of $29.7 billion in trade exchange.

China’s Arab Policy Paper
The CASCF later evolved into what is known as China’s Arab Policy Paper, issued by the Chinese Government in 2016. Like the CASCF, the Arab Policy Paper followed the principle of mutual non-interference in domestic affairs, as an explicit act of rupture from US foreign policy. Yet other economic investments are linking Beijing to the Gulf Countries, apart from the crude oil imports, such as the Chinese railway construction built by the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited in Saudi Arabia, and the clean coal power plant in Dubai, partly built by China’s Harbin Electric International. While it is widely understood that the economic relationship between China and the Arab States is anchored in energy, it also true that the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, has enhanced Chinese investments in 70 countries, involving many Arab countries in the project. The BRI considers the Middle East as a key junction between Asia and Europe, much like the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which established pivotal hubs in Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) and in Egypt by passing through the Red Sea.

The economic interest China has shown towards the Arab countries has, therefore, a dual purpose: firstly, to grant itself a steady supply of crude oil and gas and, secondly, to establish critical locations in the Middle East to ensure the success of both the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Although China’s geopolitical narrative aims at avoiding any involvement in the domestic policies of Arab countries, it also has a vested interest in maintaining a peaceful situation in those countries through its military presence (Djibouti) and because of its investments. This was proven by the announcement of the Chinese ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in the summer of 2019 about the likely participation of China in the security operations of the Strait of Hormuz. Moreover, Gulf Countries took advantage of their relationship with China, gaining more room to maneuver, in deciding future relationships with the US and Europe. The US incapacity in dealing with the last summer turmoil in The Strait of Hormuz, stoked a new distrust against Washington and its military force.

Beijing Deliberately Avoids Involvement in Arab Nations’ Domestic Policies
However, Washington’s interference was felt in 2018, when US sanctions on Iran affected the trade exchanges between China and Tehran as the US desire to isolate Tehran resulted in a 34% decrease in commercial exchanges with Beijing. Before that, Iran consistently supplied China with crude oil and hostilities between the US and Iran were seen as both an opportunity for economic growth and trade exchanges for China. Back then, when Beijing and Tehran had prolific trade exchanges, China considered Iran as a critical geographic area for the development of the BRI, only to then focus its interests in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The change of plan provides an example of the policy China is pursuing while establishing relevant relationships with Arab countries: as long as the political situation is untroubled the economic benefits are significantly worth it. That explains why China has no intention of being involved in Arab countries’ domestic policies, leaving the US to deal with them.

Although China’s geopolitical relationship with Arab countries stems from its view of itself as a global political power- especially in light of international contention regarding Taiwan and Hong Kong and its desire to show its strength on a vast worldwide scale- its financial intents are predominant over any other aims, making the BRI the most ambitious and complex project for Beijing. It is not surprising then that the major projects China has developed in the Middle East include ports and industrial parks given the importance of the Arabian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea as the leading connecting corridors of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. This was made possible thanks to manifold factors, such as the longstanding action of diplomacy carried out by China throughout the last seventy years and the progressive lack of interest the US has displayed toward the Middle East since the beginning of Donald Trump’s Presidency back in 2016. In terms of diplomacy, China approached the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East through the action of special envoys appointed in relation to the Sudanese situation, the Israel-Palestine war, and the Syrian war.

In 2018 the trade volume between China and Arab League nations reached 244.3 billion US dollars, while the direct investment of Chinese firms in Arab countries accounted for 1.2 billion US dollars. These sums give an insight into the role Beijing is willing to play on the world stage, thereby redefining the playing field for major world players. The Arab countries’ lack of reaction to the news of the Uyghurs detention in the education camps should be interpreted against this background, where economic ties are being put on the fast track and human rights are being relegated to secondary importance.

https://www.insideover.com/politics/beijings-strategy-for-building-bridges-with-arab-countries.html

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

@viva_zhao @beijingwalker @ChineseTiger1986 @Chinese-Dragon @ꯀꯀꯀ

Saudi Arabia and China sign $265m deal to fight coronavirus

Updated 26 April 2020
ARAB NEWS
April 26, 2020 17:28

• BGI will provide the equipment for conducting 9,000,000 COVID-19 tests
• 50,000 daily tests will be conducted in six new regional labs

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia and China have signed a $265 million agreement to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Kingdom’s National Unified Procurement Company (NUPCO) and China’s BGI group inked the SR995 million deal for the provision of devices and supplies to fight against COVID-19 in Saudia Arabia.

The agreement signed between two companies, approved by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, chairman of the Negotiating and Purchasing Committee and supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), and Chinese ambassador to the Kingdom, Chen Weiqing, will enhance Saudi Arabia’s virus detection capacity and contribute to the Kingdom’s fight against the pandemic.

BGI will provide the equipment for conducting 9,000,000 COVID-19 tests, and includes the provision of devices and supplies, with 500 experts, specialists and technicians conducting the tests.

The deal will include six regional labs. (SPA)



“The large number of tests provided for in this agreement clearly indicates that the Kingdom is in a race against time to diagnose cases and to work to isolate them in a way that reduces the risks from this pandemic globally,” Al-Rabeeah said.

Ambassador Weiqing said: “Despite the distance between the two countries, the genes of solidarity, cooperation, friendship and mutual assistance are inherited in the traditional culture of both peoples, which makes the sincere friendship between the two peoples even stronger in these special and difficult times.”

The equipment will include the Huo Yan laboratory, a mobile modular air dome structure constructed to support screening and detection capabilities. The inflatable lab can be transported by air as standard freight on any commercial passenger plane.

“The Huo Yan laboratory is an important step toward cooperation between our two countries in fighting against the pandemic,” the ambassador said.

Six regional labs will be established under the agreement: 50,000 daily tests will be conducted to diagnose COVID-19 cases, conduct community based testing and will include a mobile laboratory with a production capacity of 10,000 tests daily — a number which can be doubled.

Chinese specialists will also train Saudi cadres and conduct daily comprehensive field tests and ensure their quality for eight months. They will also analyze the genetic map of some samples inside the Kingdom.

The agreement will also provide expertise to analyze the genetic mapping of samples in the Kingdom, and analysis of the community’s immunity mapping of 1,000,000 samples, which will have a great impact in supporting the state’s plans in managing the pandemic.

The agreement highlights the commitment of mutual assistance between China and Saudi Arabia, and will represent a start for the further development of health care cooperation. The project will enhance Saudi Arabia’s virus detection capacity and contribute to the fight against the pandemic.

The contract, one of the largest to provide diagnostic tests for the coronavirus in the world, is an addition to the Negotiating and Purchasing Committee’s award to a number of companies from the US, Switzerland and South Korea to purchase additional quantities of reagents and tests, bringing the number of targeted tests to 14.5 million, representing nearly 40 percent of the Saudi population.

“Viruses know no borders, and it takes solidarity and cooperation to defeat a pandemic. As the Chinese old saying goes, you present me with fruits, and I would reward you with a jade,” the ambassador said.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1665366/business-economy

https://twitter.com/x/status/1250888730094604294

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Holds the 17th Senior Officials' Meeting and the 6th Senior Official Level Strategic Political Dialogue​

2021-06-23 18:01

On June 22, 2021, the 17th Senior Officials' Meeting and the 6th Senior Official Level Strategic Political Dialogue of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) were held via video link. Assistant Foreign Minister Deng Li attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Chinese Secretary General of the CASCF and Director-General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Wang Di and Chairman of the Arab side and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the League of Arab States (LAS) Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Sahlawi. Officials from 21 Arab states and the LAS Secretariat, as well as envoys of Arab states to China were present. The meeting summarized the implementation progress of the outcomes of the 9th CASCF Ministerial Conference, discussed the preparations for the China-Arab Summit and a work plan for the next stage, and exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

In his speech, Deng Li reviewed the great achievements made by China and the Arab states in deepening strategic cooperation, fighting the pandemic in solidarity and contributing jointly to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), among others, and said that China is willing to work with the Arab side to prepare well for the first China-Arab Summit and build a China-Arab community with a shared future that thrives on sharing the same aspirations and pursuing peaceful and harmonious development, in a bid to push the China-Arab strategic partnership for another leap.

China and the Arab states should stay committed to mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and continue to support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns; uphold equity and justice, promote the reform of the global governance system, and protect the common interests of China, the Arab states and all the other developing countries; persevere in the joint anti-pandemic efforts, continue to carry forward the spirit of looking out for and helping each other through the hard times, and contribute to the global fight against the pandemic; keep making joint contributions to the BRI and push for further quality improvement and upgrade of bilateral cooperation.

The participants from the Arab side offered congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). They wish China continued development and rejuvenation under the leadership of the CPC; they think highly of the Arab-China relations and the development achievements of CASCF, and look forward to organizing the first Arab-China Summit with China for further deepening of the Arab-China strategic cooperation; they highly appreciate the five propositions put forward by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi for security and stability in the Middle East, thank China for its consistent and firm support for the just cause of Arab people which has played an important role in easing the recent Palestine-Israel conflict, and hope that China will play a greater role in promoting the resolution of issues in the Middle East.

​

China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Holds the 17th Senior Officials' Meeting and the 6th Senior Official Level Strategic Political Dialogue

www.fmprc.gov.cn

China, Arab states eye more cooperation​

Visitors interact with a robot at the United Arab Emirates booth at the fifth China-Arab States Expo, which opened in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Thursday. HU DONGMEI/CHINA DAILY

China is ready to work with the Arab states to promote peace, cooperation and development for mutual benefit and win-win results, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory message delivered to the fifth China-Arab States Expo, which opened on Thursday in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

He called on Arab states to work with China on high-quality construction of the Belt and Road to take the strategic partnership between them to a higher level and jointly build the China-Arab states community with a shared future for a new era.

Designed as a platform for economic and financial cooperation as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges, the expo, which closes on Sunday, is being held both online and offline under the theme of "strengthening trade and economic cooperation and jointly building the Belt and Road".

Pledging to promote economic and trade cooperation between China and Arab countries, government officials, experts, and business leaders from both sides are bullish about the prospects for China-Arab cooperation based on historical bonds and strong friendly ties, as well as the positive role played by these ties in assisting global recovery and growth.

Facing the pandemic and profound changes in the world, China and the Arab states need to join hands and seek common development more than ever, tap business opportunities and deepen cooperation, Qian Keming, China's vice-minister of commerce, said at the opening ceremony of the event.

"Together with Arab countries and based on current cooperation, China is confident that the two sides' cooperation in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, new energy and artificial intelligence will be broadened, raising China-Arab economic and trade cooperation to a new level," he said.

Kamal Hassan Ali, assistant secretary-general for economic affairs at the League of Arab States, said via video link that the Arab region has become one of the main areas covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, which he described as "a great global project".

He also said China is widely popular in the Arab region and that China provides the most prominent experience that Arab countries can learn from to revitalize the economy after the pandemic.

As of July, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with 19 Arab economies. China-Arab energy cooperation has been deepening, while major projects in the fields of electricity, communication and industrial parks keep increasing and cooperation has been advanced in areas such as nuclear energy, satellites and new energy, according to a report released at the expo.

China has become the largest trading partner of Arab countries, which are China's largest overseas supplier of crude oil, thanks to their complementary trade structure, according to data from the ministry.

Bilateral trade totaled $239.8 billion last year, while China's exports to Arab countries grew by 2.2 percent year-on-year to $123.1 billion. China's direct investment in Arab countries amounted to $20.1 billion by 2020, while the latter's investments in China totaled $3.8 billion.

Thanks to the tangible growth of the BRI, China Railway Construction Corp Ltd, a State-owned infrastructure project provider, plans to complete construction of Rotana Hotels and Resorts in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, a landmark hotel construction project worth 340 million dirhams ($92.6 million), in September 2023.

Wang Wenzhong, the CRCC's vice-president, said the CRCC will deploy more resources in key markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as its subsidiaries there have already built many projects, including bridges, tunnels, buildings, roads, residential buildings, office complexes and other commercial buildings.

Hu Dongmei in Yinchuan contributed to this story.

China, Arab states eye more cooperation

China is ready to work with the Arab states to promote peace, cooperation and development for mutual benefit and win-win results, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

www.chinadaily.com.cn

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

China Focus: China-Arab cooperation gains steam despite pandemic ​

Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-20 00:23:00|Editor: huaxia

Guests attend the fifth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Aug. 19, 2021. The four-day event will feature trade fairs and forums on digital economy, clean energy, water resource, modern agriculture, green food, cross-border e-commerce and tourism cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

YINCHUAN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The fifth China-Arab States Expo opened Thursday in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, focusing on economic and trade cooperation and the co-building of the Belt and Road.

Held both online and offline for the first time in history, the four-day event will feature trade fairs and forums on the digital economy, clean energy, water resources, modern agriculture, green food, cross-border e-commerce, and tourism.

More than 1,000 domestic and overseas enterprises have registered as exhibitors for offline and virtual events at the expo this year.

China, now the Arab states' largest trading partner, has the confidence to further expand cooperation with the countries in the digital economy, new energy, artificial intelligence, and other emerging fields, said Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming via videolink at the opening ceremony.

Qian said China and Arab states have cooperated and helped each other during the pandemic, and their economic cooperation and trade exchange reached a new level.

According to statistics of the ministry, China-Arab trade volume reached 239.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, during which China imported 250 million tonnes of crude oil from Arab states or half of the country's total crude oil imports last year.

Arab states' imports from China reached 122.9 billion U.S. dollars last year, up by 2.1 percent year on year, Qian said.

"Facing the pandemic and the great change unseen in a century, China and Arab states now have more urgent needs than ever to walk hand in hand and seek common development, as well as tap the business opportunities and deepen cooperation," he added.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Ningxia regional government, the expo has attracted more than 5,000 enterprises from around 110 countries since its inauguration in 2013, with about 940 cooperative projects signed.

Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani said via video that Arab countries and China are highly complementary in their economies and enjoy broad prospects for cooperation. He noted that Morocco has actively participated and played a constructive role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has seen great progress in the country's infrastructure.

Stressing that new opportunities will be brought to countries along the Belt and Road, Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi said joint efforts to safeguard regional security and stability are vital for the further development of the initiative.

Tunisia expects to deepen cooperation with China in areas like tourism and the digital economy, he said.

Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, senior vice president of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, said they expect to cooperate with China in clean hydrogen, clean ammonia, and carbon capture utilization and storage.

Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said that the BRI has proven to be practical and successful, and the proposal of building a digital Silk Road and a green Silk Road will make contributions to the low-carbon development of the world.

China Focus: China-Arab cooperation gains steam despite pandemic

www.xinhuanet.com

As Biden struggles to define his relationship with Saudi Arabia, China is stepping in to fill the gap​

Bill Bostock Feb 4, 2022, 11:49 AM

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

• The US is distancing itself from Saudi Arabia and reassessing its options in the Middle East.
• Meanwhile, Crown Prince MBS is attending the Beijing Winter Olympics in a show of unity with China.
• The two countries have deepened their trade and defense links in recent months.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is arriving in Beijing on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics as Western leaders boycott the event over human-rights concerns.

The news of MBS's attendance, reported by Chinese state media, comes as no surprise. In recent months, China and Saudi Arabia have grown closer, establishing new fronts of cooperation in defense and trade.

Meanwhile, the US, the longtime military heavyweight in the Middle East, is continuing to reassess its options in the region, after distancing itself from MBS and historic costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Sino-Saudi relationship reaches new heights​

Saudi Arabia has long been China's biggest trade partner in the Middle East — Saudi goods accounted for 17% of Chinese imports in 2021.

China has also played a small role in Saudi Arabia's defense since the 1980s, but the US has always been the Saudis' main military guarantor.

That low-level military trade has never fazed the US, said Jonathan Fulton, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council: "There's always been a bit of that, mostly military things that the US can't provide, so it doesn't really step on any toes."

But Riyadh and Beijing have grown closer in recent years, identifying security as a key area of shared interest.

In 2020, China promoted its Saudi relationship to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," and on January 27, that relationship hit new heights when the pair announced plans to deepen their defense collaboration to a "practical cooperation" level.

"It was very vague, but given the context of the ballistic-missile project that the Chinese are supporting them in, you can see that the relationship is moving further," Fulton said, referencing a December CNN report that said China was helping Saudi Arabia develop its own ballistic-missile program.

"They need China on their side," Roie Yellinek, a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said of the Saudis. "Military ties are the best way to do it."

The Sino-Saudi defense partnership is smart business, but it may not have gone down well with the US.

"When proliferation is such a big issue, for the US's biggest strategic competitor to be helping one of their most important allies is probably not very well received in Washington," Fulton said.

While the US is still Saudi Arabia's largest foreign military partner, Washington did politically distance itself from MBS in 2018 following the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"The Americans are still trying to understand what they're supposed to do with the Saudis," Yellinek said.

During the defense announcement, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe fired a thinly veiled gibe at the US, saying China and Saudi Arabia should "jointly oppose hegemonic and bullying practices."

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has insisted that Beijing was not trying to challenge US hegemony in the Middle East. "There is no 'power vacuum,' and there is no need of 'patriarchy from outside,'" he said on January 16.

Instead, Beijing is working differently, Yellinek said: "China has no interest in replacing the US, they don't have the capacity to do it, and it's not their style of doing things."

Inching closer​

The Sino-Saudi relationship goes deeper than defense.

Beijing has Riyadh's support on the key issue behind the boycott of its Winter Olympics: the persecution of Uyghurs, the Muslim-dominant ethnic group whose existence is being threatened in western China. Saudi Arabia is helping deport Uyghurs to China, Human Rights Watch reported, and MBS has defended the use of the camps in which China keeps them.

China has also pledged to help with Vision 2030, MBS's mammoth development project to reform Saudi Arabia, and asked that Saudi Arabia help with its Belt and Road Initiative in return.

Last November, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund applied for a license to trade on China's stock exchange, another step in deepening the two countries' financial links.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia announced that Mandarin would be taught in some schools as a third language alongside English and Arabic.

"Years ago, every conversation started with 'Why is China important?'" Yellinek said. "Now, no one asks this question."

While the US is by no means abandoning the Middle East, Riyadh's move toward China — a shift also mirrored by Saudi Arabia's neighbors — indicates that all roads don't have to lead to Washington. Some can end in Beijing.

As Biden struggles to define his relationship with Saudi Arabia, China is stepping in to fill the gap

Saudi Arabia and China took their trade, defense, and culture links to new heights in recent months. Experts say that may not sit well in Washington.

www.businessinsider.com

CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic missiles with help of China​

CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic missiles with help of China

US intelligence agencies have assessed that Saudi Arabia is now actively manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, CNN has learned, a development that could have significant ripple effects across the Middle East and complicate the Biden administration's efforts to restrain...

www.cnn.com

CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic missiles with help of China

December 23, 2021 New satellite images taken by Planet show a burn operation occurred at a ballistic missile production facility near Dawadmi, Saudi Arabia between October 26 and November 2. Experts say this is the first unambiguous evidence that the facility is operating to produce missiles...

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