China seeks stronger trade ties with Arab states

World Today

The 2015 China-Arab States Expo, a platform to enhance economic and trade cooperation, has opened in the northwest Chinese city of Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

This year’s theme is “Uphold Silk Road Spirit, Deepen China-Arab States Cooperation.” The event will feature trade fairs and seminars on e-commerce, new energy, agriculture, education, tourism and medical care.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a letter of congratulation that this year’s expo has great significance in promoting Sino-Arab exchanges, consolidating friendship, and enhancing pragmatic cooperation.

“China and the Arab States are good friends with mutual trust, as well as good partners in seeking common prosperity,” said President Xi.

State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun said in a speech at the opening ceremony that China and the Arab States should further cement political trust, continue to open up markets and facilitate two-way trade and investment.

“China attaches great importance to this year’s Expo, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory message to the Expo. Issues on the agenda include e-commerce, new energy, high-tech, agriculture, education and tourism”, Guo said.

This year, Jordan is the guest country of honor. Jordan, like many other Arab countries, expects to work closely with China to promote an effective allocation of resources and a deeper integration of markets. On Wednesday, President Xi and the Jordanian king signed a joint statement in Beijing on the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries.

“Now, we have lots of resources and lots of potentials in terms of raw materials, and China has gone far ahead in technology. In that sense, I think we can have lots of exchanges of benefits”, Mustafa Idris Elbashir of the Association of Arab Universities said to CCTV NEWS.

In the past few years, various China-Arab States exchange activities have been carried forward with more than 600 cooperative agreements being signed covering the fields of petrochemical and finance. Trade between China and the Arab States exploded from 10 million U.S. dollars in 1950s to 251.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, which made China the second largest trade partner of the Arab States.

Story compiled from CCTV News and Xinhua News.