Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday that China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will strengthen cooperation on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Wang made the remarks during a virtual ministerial meeting with his counterparts from the GCC countries and Secretary General of the GCC Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf. 

Wang said China and the GCC countries should unite to fight the pandemic and that vaccine cooperation is the highlight. 

Wang said the two sides should carry out post-pandemic economic reconstruction, restart negotiations on the China-Gulf Free Trade Zone, strengthen cooperation on data security and push forward Belt and Road cooperation.  

Noting that unilateral bullying has posed the biggest challenge to the multilateral international order and that the rise of protectionism has had a major impact on the global economy, Wang urged the international community to promote and practice the spirit of solidarity and cooperation. 

In the face of the uncertain international situation, China and the GCC countries have maintained a high degree of stability, he said. 

China-GCC cooperation has become an important stabilizing force in the Gulf region and the world, Wang said, adding that this stability stems from the mutual understanding, trust and support between the two sides over the years.  

China treasures the ties and believes that the tested relations between the two sides are becoming more mature and resilient, he said. 

We should use the stability of the China-GCC relations to cope with the turbulence of the international situation and use mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides to promote the prosperity and development of the region. 

The ministers from the GCC countries said China is an important strategic partner as well as the largest exporter and importer of GCC countries, which fully demonstrates that there is broad space for cooperation between the two sides.

The GCC countries attach great importance to developing ties with China and sincerely thank China for its assistance and cooperation in fighting the epidemic, they said.

The GCC countries are ready to work with China to jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, restart the Free Trade Area negotiations as soon as possible and take the relations between the two countries to a new level, they added.

Exchanging views on international and regional issues of common concern, the two sides agreed that the regional issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, and they agreed to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Gulf region.

(Cover via Chinese Foreign Ministry)