What has changed in ten years?, Documenting One of the Ten Year Colorful Series of the China Arab Expo: Time Train Travels from 2013 to 2023

In 2013, Yinchuan, Ningxia.

In 2013, Beijing, China.

The State Council Information Office held a press conference announcing that the first China Arab States Expo will be held in Yinchuan, Ningxia from September 15 to 19, 2013.

In 2013, Cairo, Egypt.

Under the influence of his parents, young Mahmoud Fatu had a vague understanding of the words "the Belt and Road" and learned that there is a province in China called Ningxia.

The world is far away in the sky, and the world is close in front of us; Openness has great potential, openness has great potential!

At that time, Ningxia condensed its openness into a brand new platform: with the approval of the State Council, the three sessions of the Ningbo International Trade Fair and the China Arab Economic and Trade Forum were upgraded to the China Arab Countries Expo.

China and Arab countries join hands and face the world! The theme of the first China Arab Expo represents China's clear attitude towards open development and points out the key points of Ningxia's open development.

In the past 10 years, Ningxia has actively integrated into the construction of the "the Belt and Road", made good use of the China Arab Expo, built an inland open economic pilot zone, built a new pattern of opening up, and unswervingly promoted a higher level of opening up. In ten years and five sessions of the China Arab Expo, Ningxia has embraced more opportunities, climbed to a higher level, and achieved the upgrading of perspectives, goals, and openness.

Ten years of hard work have paid off, and everywhere is bustling and new.

September 20, 2023, Yinchuan.

Zhang Shirong, chairman of Wisdom Palace International Culture Communication Group Co., Ltd., said, "Looking back on the past 10 years, I was filled with emotion. Ten years ago, I was thinking that I would take the" the Belt and Road "development express, and take the initiative to tell more countries and more people about the brilliant achievements of China's reform and opening up. Ten years later, I was glad to catch up with a great era, meet the best policies, take the east wind of the" the Belt and Road ", and make the Wisdom Palace a key national cultural export project and enterprise with the help of the China Arab Expo world stage."

In the past 10 years, the Wisdom Palace has translated and published more than 1400 Chinese and Arabic books to the "the Belt and Road" countries, and the total number of books sold has exceeded 2 million; Translated over 310 films and TV shows that Chinese people love to watch, including "Shanhaiqing," "Ode to Joy," and "Parental Love," all of which have gone abroad; At the end of 2022, the paper textbook "Smart Learning Chinese" independently developed by the enterprise for Arab countries passed the certification of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education, which is also the world's first foreign textbook certified by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education.

Look at a corner and know the whole picture.

The outstanding performance of enterprises in the international market highlights the upward momentum of the China Arab Expo over the past 10 years.

In the past 10 years, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has attached great importance to the China Arab Expo.

In the past 10 years, the China Arab Expo has become a national and international comprehensive expo jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the People's Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Over the past 10 years, a total of 112 countries and regions, 24 Chinese and foreign political figures, 318 Chinese and foreign ministerial level guests, more than 6000 Chinese and foreign enterprises, and over 400000 businessmen participated. A total of more than 1200 cooperation projects were signed, covering multiple fields such as modern agriculture, high-tech, energy and chemical engineering, and biomedicine, forming a number of influential and demonstrative achievements in China Arab economic and trade cooperation.

In the past 10 years, the China Arab Expo has become an important platform for China and Arab countries to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", build bridges and create conditions for mutual exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Arab enterprises, and effectively promote economic, trade and investment exchanges and cooperation between China and countries that jointly build the "the Belt and Road".

Focusing on economic and trade, pragmatic cooperation, rooted in the genes of the China Arab Expo, persistently and consistently.

Taking the China Arab Expo as an opportunity, Ningxia serves the national strategy, focuses on economic and trade cooperation, grabs the major opportunity of "the Belt and Road" co construction, constantly finds its position and comparative advantages in the domestic big cycle and domestic and international double cycle, adheres to the combination of domestic opening and external opening, promotes high-quality "bringing in" and high-level "going out", and constantly stimulates high-quality development vitality.

"Egypt and Ningxia have already established in-depth cooperation in economic and trade exchanges, and in the future, there can be more exchanges in areas such as new energy, automobiles, and water conservancy facilities." On September 19th, at the third Ningxia International Friendly City Forum Industry Matchmaking Conference, Manduhe Gleb, the Governor of Eastern Egypt, said in an interview with reporters.

"Both Ningxia and Morocco have vast deserts, and Morocco and Ningxia can engage in deeper cooperation in areas such as desert tourism and new energy, promoting closer relations between Morocco and Ningxia." Mohammad Khalil, Chairman of the Morocco China Friendship Exchange Association, told reporters.

Fang Qiuchen, President of the China International Contractors Association, once again came to participate in the China Arab Expo. At the 5th China Arab Expo, he hopes to leverage this economic and trade investment cooperation platform, fully leverage the advantages of chambers of commerce and enterprises, and promote more member enterprises to invest and build infrastructure in Arab countries. This time, he still came for this: "In the past two years, our member companies have made significant progress, and I hope to have greater gains at the 6th China Arab Expo."

Due to the China Arab Expo, Ningxia's footsteps towards the world have become more steady.

Build a "happy road" in 10 years. Ningxia has successively launched international freight trains to Central Asia, West Asia, Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, and Laos, forming an air transportation pattern centered around Yinchuan Hedong International Airport, radiating to the provincial capital and major economic and tourism cities throughout the country, facing the Middle East, connecting East Asia and Southeast Asia. These tangible paths make Ningxia's journey towards the world faster.

Expand your circle of friends in 10 years. Amazon of the United States, Simpson, Schaeffler of Germany... A group of world's top 500 and well-known multinational enterprises have come to Nanjing to invest and build factories, among which Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" have set up 124 foreign direct investment enterprises in Nanjing. As of the end of 2022, Ningxia has established a total of 1104 foreign direct investment enterprises. From 2013 to 2022, Ningxia has cumulatively utilized 2.36 billion US dollars in foreign investment, with an average annual growth rate of 8.2%. These enterprises have become a solid force for the high-quality development of Ningxia's economy.

10 years to support the "full sky star". A large number of Ningxia enterprises actively integrate into the new development pattern, seize the opportunity of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", aim at customers and resources, give full play to Ningxia's advantageous resources, allocate resources and layout industries in a larger range, and make a double cycle. Currently, Ningxia has established 152 outward foreign direct investment enterprises in 36 countries and regions worldwide, with a total outward investment of 4.39 billion US dollars and a turnover of 450 million US dollars in contracted projects.

Realize the goal of "going out to sea in groups" within 10 years. Ningxia strengthens the construction of overseas cooperation and opening up carriers, continuously innovates the construction methods of overseas industrial parks, enhances cooperation with large central enterprises and business authorities of sister provinces, and realizes the staggered development, resource sharing, and group outings of overseas industrial parks in various provinces. At present, the construction of overseas industrial parks such as China Saudi Arabia Industrial Park and China Oman Industrial Park is steadily advancing. In the process of mutual benefit and win-win, we have jointly drawn a new chapter of high-quality development.

Time is the scale for pioneers to move forward, and it is also a witness for those who strive to build their dreams.

From petrochemical projects to industrial park construction, from standardized potato cultivation to agricultural water-saving technology, from satellite navigation cooperation to China Arab technology innovation platforms... China Arab cooperation has both old topics and new fields emerging. Ningxia's opening-up to the outside world has also shifted from a focus on manufacturing to a simultaneous development of manufacturing and service industries; Transforming from a focus on importing to a focus on high-quality imports and high-level going out; The level of openness has shifted from commodity and factor mobility to institutional openness.

Boats and ships continue to pave the way, creating a new sky, and business envoys and subordinates are rejuvenated.

In the past 5 sessions of the China Arab Expo, the seeds we planted for China Arab cooperation have all matured over time, sprouting and blossoming in buds.

The friendship between the Chinese and Arab peoples has a long and enduring history.

Mahmoud Fatu is very concerned about the China Arab Expo.

After seeing the "hometown" of Manduhe Gleb, the governor of the eastern province of Egypt, he felt a deep sense of familiarity.

A teenager from 10 years ago has now grown into a youth, pursuing a doctoral degree at Ningxia University and being able to speak fluent Chinese. "I had a good impression of interacting with Chinese students studying abroad in Cairo, and they inspired me to come and see China. I came to Ningxia, hoping to make a small contribution to friendly exchanges," said Mahmoud.

"During our visit to Ningxia, we visited a cattle farm and were deeply impressed. We hope to strengthen cooperation with Ningxia in the agricultural field, learn good experiences and methods from Ningxia's agricultural industry, and have more opportunities to showcase Kyrgyzstan's theatrical culture to the Chinese people." Kyrgyz congressman Karim Hanzheza's blurted out Chinese left a deep impression on the reporter.

"I'm not speaking very fluently yet," Karim Hanzheza said humbly as he saw the journalist give him a thumbs up in Chinese.

China and Arab countries have continuously expanded cultural exchanges and carried out rich and colorful cooperation in areas such as youth, education, culture, health, and broadcasting, film and television, promoting the continuous consolidation of the public opinion foundation for China Arab cooperation in the new era.

The wind is strong, the sails are full of the sea and the sky is vast. Let's walk hand in hand and set off again.

The 6th China Arab Expo, with the theme of "Joining Hands with the New Era to Seize New Opportunities and Share a New Future," will open its arms and welcome guests and friends in this harvest season.

This conference coincides with the 10th anniversary of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the 10th anniversary of the China Arab Expo, which is of great significance.

Let's look forward to the new opportunities and dreams brought by the new China Arab Expo.

Let us continue to strive, stand on a new starting point, and embark on the next "ten-year promise" together!