Xi Jinping’s speech at the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum

The tenth conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) was held in Beijing on May 30, marking 20 years since the launch of the biannual gathering.

Representatives from the 22 member countries of the League of Arab States participated and the growing importance attached by both sides to their relationship was underscored by President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech in the opening session and the presence of the heads of state of Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who combined attendance at this ministerial level gathering with state visits to China.

President Xi began his speech in personal vein, stating that, “I always find it heart-warming to meet Arab friends,” adding:

“The friendship between the Chinese and Arab peoples is deeply rooted in our friendly exchanges along the ancient Silk Road, in our joint struggles for national liberation, and in our win-win cooperation in promoting national development.”

He noted that: “As changes unseen in a century unfold rapidly across the world, both China and Arab states strive to accomplish their historical missions of national rejuvenation and faster national development. Building a China-Arab community with a shared future is a strong statement of our common desire for a new era of China-Arab relations and a better future for the world.”

The Chinese leader’s remarks served to underscore the difference between China’s approach to fellow members of the Global South compared to that displayed by the imperialist powers. He observed: “In this turbulent world, peaceful relations come from mutual respect, and lasting security is built on fairness and justice… In a world of growing diversity, more dialogue means less confrontation, and more inclusiveness means less estrangement.

“We are ready to work with the Arab side to jointly champion an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation and set a model of South-South cooperation on global governance.”

His forward looking spirit was also reflected in the key areas he highlighted for cooperation, which included not only oil and gas, but also trade and infrastructure, along with new growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), investment, new energy, and green innovation.

Referring to the first China-Arab States Summit, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2022, and having announced that the second summit will be held in China in 2026, Xi recalled that he had put forward eight major cooperation initiatives in Riyadh, adding:

“New progress has been made in scientific R&D and technology transfer. Trade and energy cooperation have scaled new heights. Small and beautiful livelihood projects are advancing in parallel with signature flagship projects. Cooperation in areas such as food security, green innovation and health is deepening and getting more substantial. Platforms for people-to-people exchanges and cooperation are functioning well.”

To further propel these positive developments, he suggested five cooperation frameworks, aimed at achieving:

• A more dynamic framework for innovation
• An expanded framework for investment and finance cooperation (including welcoming Arab banks to join the Cross-border Interbank Payment System, which represents an alternative to the US-controlled SWIFT system)
• A more multifaceted framework for energy cooperation – embracing renewable energy projects
• A more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties – including accelerating negotiations on bilateral and regional free trade agreements; and
• A broader framework for people-to-people exchanges. China will invite 200 leaders of Arab political parties to visit China every year.

Naturally, no dialogue with Arab leaders, especially at the present time, could possibly fail to pay keen attention to the situation facing the embattled Palestinian people in the face of a genocidal Zionist war of aggression.

President Xi noted that, since last October, the people in Gaza had been thrown into tremendous suffering:

“War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever… China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders 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.”

He further pledged another round of emergency humanitarian aid from China.

The following is the full text of President Xi’s speech. It was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Further Deepening Cooperation and Moving Forward to Step up the Building of a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the Opening Ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum

Beijing, May 30, 2024

Your Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa,

Your Excellency President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi,

Your Excellency President Kais Saied,

Your Highness President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan,

Your Excellency Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit of the League of Arab States,

Heads of Delegations,

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

It gives me great pleasure to attend the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. I always find it heart-warming to meet Arab friends. The friendship between the Chinese and Arab peoples is deeply rooted in our friendly exchanges along the ancient Silk Road, in our joint struggles for national liberation, and in our win-win cooperation in promoting national development.

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, my Arab colleagues and I agreed unanimously to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era. China is satisfied with the progress we have made in delivering on the Summit’s outcomes. 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. I am pleased to announce that we will host the second Summit in China in 2026, which will be another milestone in China-Arab relations.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

As changes unseen in a century unfold rapidly across the world, both China and Arab states strive to accomplish their historical missions of national rejuvenation and faster national development. Building a China-Arab community with a shared future is a strong statement of our common desire for a new era of China-Arab relations and a better future for the world.

China will work with the Arab side as good partners to make our relations a model for maintaining world peace and stability. In this turbulent world, peaceful relations come from mutual respect, and lasting security is built on fairness and justice. We will, together with the Arab side, respect the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, the independent choice of every nation and the reality formed in history, and strive together for solutions to hotspot issues that uphold fairness and justice and sustain peace and security.

China will work with the Arab side in the spirit of equality and mutual benefit to make our relations a fine example of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The Silk Road spirit is passed on from generation to generation. It keeps China-Arab relations abreast with the times to the benefit of the two peoples. In this interdependent world, we will further synergize development strategies with the Arab side. We will strengthen cooperation in key areas such as oil, gas, trade and infrastructure, step up fostering new growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), investment, financing and new energy, and embark together on an innovative and green path to prosperity.

China will work with the Arab side in the spirit of inclusiveness and mutual learning to make our relations a paradigm of harmonious coexistence between civilizations. In a world of growing diversity, more dialogue means less confrontation, and more inclusiveness means less estrangement. Peace, truth, integrity and inclusiveness are the common pursuit of Chinese and Arab peoples. We are ready to work with the Arab side to promote people-to-people exchanges, champion the common values of humanity, and create a stellar example of mutual learning among civilizations in the new era.

China will work closely with the Arab side to make our relations a model for promoting good global governance. The entire humanity shares one common future, which has become an inevitable trend. But deficits in governance, trust, peace and development are getting wider. This calls on us to improve global governance under the principle of “planning together, building together, and benefiting together.” We are ready to work with the Arab side to jointly champion an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and set a model of South-South cooperation on global governance.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

At the first China-Arab States Summit, I put forward “eight major cooperation initiatives” for our practical cooperation. Since then, the Belt and Road cooperation documents we signed have expanded to cover a full range of areas thanks to our joint efforts over the past one year and more. New progress has been made in scientific R&D and technology transfer. Trade and energy cooperation have scaled new heights. Small and beautiful livelihood projects are advancing in parallel with signature flagship projects. Cooperation in areas such as food security, green innovation and health is deepening and getting more substantial. Platforms for people-to-people exchanges and cooperation are functioning well. Early harvests have been achieved in all the “eight major cooperation initiatives.” Moving forward, China is ready 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 first is a more dynamic framework for innovation. China will build with the Arab side ten joint laboratories in such areas as life and health, AI, green and low-carbon development, modern agriculture, and space and information technology. We will enhance cooperation on AI to make it empower the real economy and to promote a broad-based global governance system on AI. We also stand ready to build with the Arab side a joint space debris observation center and a Beidou application, cooperation and development center, and step up cooperation in manned space mission and passenger aircraft.

The second is an expanded framework for investment and finance cooperation. We are ready to establish with the Arab side an industry and investment cooperation forum, continue to expand the China-Arab states interbank association, and implement at a faster pace the cooperation projects that are financed by the special loans in support of industrialization in the Middle East as well as by the credit line for China-Arab financial cooperation. China supports closer cooperation between financial institutions from the two sides, welcomes Arab states to issue panda bonds in China, and welcomes Arab banks to join the Cross-border Interbank Payment System. China is also ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation on central bank digital currency with the Arab side.

The third is a more multifaceted framework for energy cooperation. China will further enhance strategic cooperation with the Arab side on oil and gas, and integrate supply security with market security. China is ready to work with the Arab side on new energy technology R&D and equipment production. We will support Chinese energy companies and financial institutions in participating in renewable energy projects in Arab states with total installed capacity of over 3 million kilowatts.

The fourth is a more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties. China will continue to implement vigorously the development cooperation projects with a total worth of RMB3 billion yuan. It stands ready to accelerate the negotiations on bilateral and regional free trade agreements and advance the dialogue mechanism for e-commerce cooperation. It welcomes active participation of the Arab side in the China International Import Expo, and is willing to expand import of non-energy products from the Arab side, especially agricultural products.

The fifth is a broader framework for people-to-people exchanges. China is ready to establish with the Arab side the China-Arab Center of Global Civilization Initiative, expand the size and influence of the China-Arab Research Center on Reform and Development, accelerate the establishment of such platforms as the think tank alliance, the youth development forum, the university alliance, and the research center on cultural and tourism cooperation. China will invite 200 leaders of Arab political parties to visit China every year. We plan to work with the Arab side to achieve the goal of 10 million two-way visits of tourists in the next five years.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

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. China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine’s full membership in the U.N., and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference. On top of the previous RMB100 million yuan of emergency humanitarian assistance, China will provide an additional RMB500 million yuan of assistance to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support post-conflict reconstruction. We will donate U.S.$3 million to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in support of its emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

As an Arab saying goes, friends are the sunshine in life. We will continue to work with our Arab friends to carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship, build together a better future, and make the road sunny toward a China-Arab community with a shared future!

Thank you!