PR99172

BEIJING, Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

As the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit brought the leaders of China

and the GCC countries together for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the

traditional friendship between the two sides has been carried forward and the

strategicness of the relations has been further enriched.

China and the GCC countries are natural partners for cooperation, said Chinese

President Xi Jinping on Friday in his speech at the summit, calling on the two

sides to be partners in promoting unity, development, security and

civilizations.

The summit decided to establish and strengthen the strategic partnership

between China and the GCC countries.

Enriching strategicness of China-GCC relations

Founded in 1981, the GCC has six member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The GCC countries are

important partners for China in its cooperation with the Middle East. China has

maintained contact with the GCC ever since its establishment.

In his speech, Xi hailed the achievements made between the two sides during the

past years, saying that China and the GCC countries should continue the

traditional friendship and take the strategic partnership as an opportunity to

enrich the strategic connotation of China-GCC relations.

He said the two sides should be partners in promoting unity, strengthen

political mutual trust and firmly support each other's core interests.

The two sides should synergize development strategies, build security together

and learn from each other's fine cultural achievements, he added.

Promoting cooperation in future

The Chinese president proposed five major areas for cooperation between China

and the GCC countries in the next three to five years: energy, finance and

investment, innovation and new technologies, aerospace, and language and

cultures.

China will continue to import more crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the

GCC countries, establish a working mechanism for bilateral investment and

economic cooperation and deepen digital currency cooperation, as well as build

a big data and cloud computing center with the GCC countries, according to the

president.

According to data from China's General Administration of Customs, China remains

the GCC's largest trading partner and largest export market for petrochemical

products. Bilateral trade exceeded $230 billion in 2021, when Chinese fossil

fuel imports from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE reached $44.9 billion, $25.4

billion and $21.3 billion, respectively.

In recent years, the friendly relations between the two sides have consistently

developed. On September 19, for instance, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign

Minister Wang Yi met with the GCC foreign ministers as a group on the sidelines

of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During the meeting, the two

sides agreed to "make joint efforts to reach common ground on the China-GCC

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at an early date, so as to release positive signals

and to help each other achieve better development."

Leaders from other GCC countries spoke highly of GCC-China relations and the

summit, saying that they believe the first summit is a grand gathering in the

history of GCC-China relations and an important milestone.

The GCC countries firmly support the one-China principle and are ready to work

with China to implement the outcomes of the summit, deepen bilateral

cooperation in key areas and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

The summit also issued a joint statement and adopted the 2023-2027 action plan

for the strategic dialogue between China and the GCC countries.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-09/Xi-Jinping-says-China-GCC-states-natural-partners-for-cooperation-1fCZREQ2L1m/index.html

source CGTN