Current Affairs News丨How can the construction of a China-Arab community with a shared future accelerate? Xi Jinping’s keynote speech points out the direction

On May 30, President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and delivered a keynote speech.

In December 2022, the first China-Arab Summit decided to make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era. A year and a half later, President Xi emphasized in this keynote speech that the construction of a community with a shared future between China and Arab states should be accelerated.

What are the highlights of the reunion between Chinese and Arab friends in Beijing? What path has President Xi clarified for “running out of acceleration”? "Current Affairs News Eye" explains it for you.

On the morning of May 30, in the Diaoyutai Youth Garden in Beijing, the national flags of China, 22 Arab countries and the Arab League flags complemented each other. The opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum was held here.

The ministerial meeting is a long-term mechanism and regular meeting arrangement of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. It is held alternately every two years in China or the Arab League headquarters or any Arab country.

Since entering the new era, the sixth and eighth ministerial conferences were held in Beijing in June 2014 and July 2018 respectively. The opening ceremonies of those two meetings were both held in the Great Hall of the People. President Xi delivered important speeches at the opening ceremony.

This year marks the 10th Ministerial Conference, and Arab friends gather in Beijing again.

King Hamad of Bahrain, President Sisi of Egypt, President Said of Tunisia, President Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates, Secretary-General of the Arab League Gheit, and 22 heads of delegations from Arab countries attended this event.

There are two important time points in this meeting.

First, it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

In January 2004, China and Arab countries jointly announced the establishment of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Over the past 20 years, the forum has established 19 important mechanisms such as ministerial meetings, strategic political dialogue, reform and development forum, and energy cooperation conference, and issued 85 important outcome documents.

△Before the meeting begins, various preparations are underway on site.

This meeting was also the first ministerial-level meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum after the successful holding of the first China-Arab States Summit.

In December 2022, the first China-Arab Summit will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. President Xi attended the summit and delivered a keynote speech. The summit issued the "Riyadh Declaration of the First China-Arab Summit", announcing that China and Arab states agreed to make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era.

Go further. This meeting is of great significance for implementing the outcomes of the China-Arab States Summit and accelerating the construction of a China-Arab States community with a shared future for the new era.

△On the afternoon of May 29, President Xi Jinping held a ceremony to welcome Egyptian President Sisi to visit China. The picture shows the children at the welcome ceremony.

At the opening ceremony that day, the four heads of Arab states of Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates and the Secretary-General of the Arab League delivered speeches respectively. In addition to attending the opening ceremony, the four heads of state came to my country for a state visit.

This group of heavyweight visits also coincides with an important node in bilateral relations. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bahrain, the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Egypt, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Tunisia, and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates.

△On the afternoon of May 30, President Xi Jinping held talks with President Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates. This is the scene before the talks begin.

At the opening ceremony on May 30, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Deepening Cooperation, Carrying on the Past and Forging into the Future, and Accelerating the Construction of a China-UAE Community with a Shared Future." To understand this important speech, you need to grasp three key words - "cordial", "pragmatic" and "just".

At the beginning of his speech, President Xi said, “Every time I get together with Arab friends, I feel even more cordial.”

"Close", "cordial" and "close" are the feelings that President Xi often talks about to his Arab friends.

In 2014, at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Ministerial Conference, President Xi said, “When I meet Arab friends, I always feel like we are old friends at first sight. This sense of closeness is due to the enthusiasm and sincerity we treat each other, and also due to the mutual respect between China and Arab countries. long-term exchanges between nations.”

In 2016, President Xi gave a speech at the headquarters of the League of Arab States and quoted a sentence from "Guanzi": "If you have been close before you met, you can go; if you have not forgotten it for a long time, you can come." He said, " Coming to an Arab country, my colleagues and I feel a sense of closeness.”

In 2018, at the opening ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference, President Xi once again said, “Although the two major nations of China and Afghanistan are far apart, they are as close as one family.”

At the first China-Arab Summit in 2022, President Xi refined for the first time the China-Arab friendship spirit of “mutual assistance, equality and mutual benefit, tolerance and mutual learning”.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, President Xi said that China is willing to work with Afghanistan to help each other, equality and mutual benefit, tolerance and mutual learning, and close collaboration to build China-Afghanistan relations into a benchmark for maintaining world peace and stability and jointly build high-quality "One Belt, One Road" ", a model of harmonious coexistence of different civilizations, and an example of exploring the correct path for global governance.

At the opening ceremony, President Xi also announced an important message: China will host the second China-UAE Summit in China in 2026. He said, "I believe this will become another milestone in China-UAE relations."

With the joint efforts of China and Afghanistan, this ministerial meeting signed cooperation documents such as the Beijing Declaration and the Forum Action Implementation Plan from 2024 to 2026, and achieved fruitful results.

When he attended the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum for the first time in 2014, President Xi Jinping expressed the tone and background of China-Arab cooperation - "pragmatism."

He said that we should "dialogue in the clearest language and cooperate in the most considerate way." “Collective cooperation does not pursue sensational results, but rather focuses on laying the foundation and long-term measures.”

△At the opening ceremony on May 30, Arab League Secretary-General Gheit delivered a speech.

In December 2022, the first China-Arab States Summit issued the "China-Arab Comprehensive Cooperation Plan Outline", making plans for cooperation between the two sides in 18 fields including politics, economy and trade, investment, and finance.

At that summit, President Xi said that as the first step in building a China-Arab community with a shared future and implementing the China-Arab Comprehensive Cooperation Plan, in the next three to five years, China is willing to work with Afghanistan to promote the "Eight Major Common Actions" , covering 8 areas including support for development, food security, health, green innovation, energy security, dialogue between civilizations, youth development, and security and stability.

Over the past year, the "Eight Major Joint Actions" proposed by President Xi to promote practical cooperation between China and Arab states have achieved important early results.

Attending the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum this time, President Xi said that in the next stage, China is willing to build "five major cooperation patterns" with the Arab side to accelerate the construction of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

These "five major cooperation patterns" include: a more dynamic innovation-driven pattern, a larger-scale investment and financial pattern, a more three-dimensional energy cooperation pattern, a more balanced economic and trade mutually beneficial pattern, and a broader-dimensional cultural exchange pattern.

On the same day, President Xi also announced a series of practical measures, including that China will build 10 joint laboratories with Afghanistan in the fields of life and health, artificial intelligence, green and low carbon, modern agriculture, and space information. China is willing to expand its cooperation with Afghanistan. China imports non-energy products, especially agricultural and food products, and will strive to achieve 10 million tourist exchanges with Afghanistan in the next five years, etc.

From the "Eight Major Joint Actions" to the "Five Major Cooperation Patterns", China-UAE cooperation is further deepening and becoming more practical, benefiting both sides and the people of the world.

In January 2016, during his first visit to an Arab country after taking office as President of China, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Arab League headquarters entitled "Jointly Creating a Better Future for China-Arab Relations."

In his speech, President Xi said that the Middle East is a fertile land. What saddens us is that this country is still not free from war and conflict. Where is the Middle East headed? This is the "question of the Middle East" that the world has repeatedly mentioned. Less conflict and suffering, more peace and dignity, this is what the people of the Middle East aspire to.

However, in the Middle East, the war is still raging. Since October last year, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has escalated violently, and the people have suffered heavily. President Xi has emphasized many times that the delay of this tragedy to this day is a test of human conscience, and the international community must take action.

On the eve of this meeting, a briefing for Chinese and foreign media held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that this meeting will issue a joint voice between China and Arab countries on the Palestinian issue.

On May 29, the day before the opening ceremony, President Xi held talks with Egyptian President Sisi. The two sides exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. President Xi said that the top priority is to immediately cease fire and war, avoid conflict spillover from impacting regional peace and stability, and prevent a more serious humanitarian crisis. The "two-state solution" is the fundamental solution to the Palestinian issue. China firmly supports Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations.

President Sisi said that Egypt highly appreciates China's always upholding justice and adhering to a just position on the Palestinian issue, and is willing to maintain close communication with China to promote the relaxation of tensions in Gaza as soon as possible.

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony on May 30, President Xi firmly expressed three "can'ts": the war cannot continue indefinitely, justice cannot be permanently absent, and the "two-state solution" cannot be wavered arbitrarily.

At the same time, he also emphasized three "supports": China firmly supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, supports Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations, and supports the convening of a larger conference A larger, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference.

This ministerial meeting adopted the "Joint Statement between China and Arab Countries on the Palestinian Issue" and issued a just voice to promote the Gaza conflict to be quelled as soon as possible and to promote a comprehensive, fair and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.

In January 2016, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Arab League headquarters and said, "On the road to pursuing the dream of national rejuvenation, we will inevitably experience twists and turns and pain, but as long as we follow the right path, we are not afraid of the distance."

Taking this Beijing event as a new starting point, China will continue to work with Arab friends to carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship, unite to create a better future, and fill the road of building a China-Arab community with a shared future with sunshine.