China is ready to make its contribution to peace and development in the Middle East through sincere cooperation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a media statement released on Tuesday on the outcomes of his tour of the Middle East. 

Wang paid official visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain along with a working visit to Oman from March 24 to 30.

Consensus reached as expected

Wang said that expected goals had been achieved with regard to a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East, which was proposed during the visit.

"China supports countries in the region to stay impervious to external pressure and interference, to independently explore development paths suited to its regional realities," Wang said, adding that the countries should "break free from the shadows of big-power geopolitical rivalry and resolve regional conflicts and differences as masters of the region."

"China does not seek self-interest in the Middle East," he said.

The foreign minister said China and the six countries will continue to support each other on each other's core interests. He termed this the most important outcome of his tour.

Wang also talked of consensuses reached in promoting practical cooperation, jointly building the Belt and Road, opposing the virus' politicization, undertaking vaccine cooperation and ensuring political settlement of regional disputes.

Implementation of five-point initiative

Talking about ways to further implement the five-point initiative, Wang said that in its presidency of the UN Security Council this May, China will encourage the Security Council to fully deliberate on the question of Palestine to reaffirm the two-state solution.

"China will take an active part in the relevant process of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue," Wang said, adding that Chinese officials had gone to Moscow to discuss, together with Iran and Russia, the road map and timetable for resuming the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Cooperation (JCPOA).

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Promoting vaccine cooperation in the region and holding the China-Arab Reform and Development Forum as well as the Middle East Security Forum were also on the agenda.

Cooperation against COVID-19

Wang said they will continue to cooperate in terms of donating and exporting COVID-19 vaccines, besides working on an international mechanism for mutual health code recognition.

After the virus outbreak in the Middle East, China sent over 100 medical experts to nine countries in the region and more than 60 video conferences were held with health experts. In addition, China had donated and exported nearly 38 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 17 Middle Eastern countries, fulfilling its commitment to make vaccines a global public good, he said.

Future cooperation

Wang noted that further work needed to be done with countries in the region to build a new development pattern as China enters the 14th Five-Year Plan period and embarks on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country.

Noting that six countries in the region were looking forward to seizing new opportunities of bilateral cooperation brought about by China's new development pattern, Wang said China is ready to work with them to align the joint construction of the Belt and Road with their national development plans.

Wang highlighted energy cooperation between China and Middle Eastern countries, calling for more efforts in high- and new-technology cooperation, such as 5G, big data and artificial intelligence.

Moreover, he stressed the development of China-Arab states community with a shared future in the new era and opposed the politicization of human rights issues.