China ready to advance cooperation, uphold mutual support with Arab states

China will continue to work with Arab countries to advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and create a model of collective cooperation for developing countries featuring unity and self-reliance, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said on Monday.

Briefing the media on Chinese President Xi Jinping's attendance at the opening ceremony of the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, which will be held on May 30 in Beijing, Deng said the meeting will hold in-depth discussions on expanding China-Arab cooperation in various fields and speeding up building a China-Arab community with a shared future.

The meeting aims to further build consensus between China and Arab states, plan the next stage of cooperation, and respond to the issue of Palestine by adopting several outcome documents.

On May 30, President Xi will attend the opening ceremony with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Tunisian President Kais Saied and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who will pay state visits to China, and deliver a keynote speech, he said.

Deng said the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum has achieved important achievements since its establishment 20 years ago and that relations between China and many Arab countries have developed by leaps and bounds.

During the first China-Arab States Summit in 2022, both sides agreed to build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era, and China-Arab relations have entered a new era of comprehensive and deepened development, he said, adding that President Xi summarized the spirit of China-Arab friendship featuring "solidarity and mutual assistance, equality and mutual benefit, and inclusiveness and mutual learning" during his keynote speech.

Deng said that through joint efforts, China and Arab states have continuously deepened their strategic mutual trust and that pragmatic cooperation has benefited the people of both sides.

He added that positive progress has been made in building a community with a shared future between China and Arab states.

Deng said China and Arab countries are both important members of developing countries and important forces in the international community, shouldering the common historical mission of realizing national rejuvenation and accelerating national construction.

The development of China-Arab relations benefits the people of both sides and is also conducive to promoting peaceful development in the Middle East, he said.

He said China will continue to work with Arab countries toward the goal of building a China-Arab community with a shared future, firmly support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns and strive to promote international order to develop in a fairer and more reasonable direction.