PR99141

BEIJING, Dec. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the first China-Arab States Summit and

the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and

pay a state visit to the country from December 7 to 10 at the invitation of its

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

In a report released in early December, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

described the summit as a milestone event. Leaders of both sides will take the

opportunity to plan future cooperation while pushing for the upgrade of

bilateral relations and consolidating consensus on global governance,

development, security and other critical issues.

Titled "China-Arab Cooperation in the New Era," the report emphasized

fast-growing bilateral trade ties and people-to-people exchanges as well as

mutual support and shared commitment to core issues.

China remains the biggest trading partner of Arab countries. In 2021, the

bilateral trade volume was roughly $330 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37

percent.

China is willing to jointly promote high-quality cooperation on the Belt and

Road Initiative (BRI) with Arab States, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a

congratulatory letter to the fifth China-Arab States Expo last year.

Noting that the traditional friendship between the peoples of China and Arab

states has become stronger over time, Xi said that China and Arab states have

continued to strengthen strategic coordination and synergy of actions in recent

years and the joint construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful

results.

Win-win cooperation

Co-organized by China Media Group (CMG) and the Ministry of Media of Saudi

Arabia, the 2022 Chinese-Arab Media Cooperation Forum was held successfully on

Monday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Over 150 guests, including government officials, representatives of media

organizations and scholars from China and 22 Arab countries, participated in

the forum.

Over the years, China has expanded cooperation with Arab countries in

developing renewable energy including solar, wind and hydropower energy.

Together, they have set up the China-Arab clean energy training center, the

Chinese-Egyptian Renewable Energy Laboratory, and implemented cooperation

projects such as the 800-megawatt Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant in Qatar and

186 megawatt solar power stations at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Egypt.

To date, China has signed BRI cooperation agreements with 20 Arab states and

the Arab League. The two sides have carried out more than 200 large-scale

cooperation projects in energy, infrastructure and other fields, benefiting

nearly 2 billion people.

"All told, China-Arab cooperation in the new era is a powerful vision to guide

entire communities towards a future of multi-pronged progression," Hannan

Hussain, former assistant researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute,

wrote in an opinion piece for CGTN.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-07/Xi-visits-the-Middle-East-What-to-be-expected-1fzKCd4aPuw/index.html

SOURCE: CGTN