This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Ahead of the upcoming sixth ministerial meeting in Beijing, CCTV's reporter Ai Yang takes a look at their relationship.
China and the Arab world’s friendship dates back to the silk road more than two thousand years ago. On June 5, top Chinese leaders will receive foreign ministers from 19 Arab countries. The meeting is expected to map out cooperation plan for the next decade.
"At the meeting China will promote more pragmatic cooperation with the Arab countries in the areas of energy, trade, infrastructure building and high tech. For the upcoming decade, we will also strengthen a number of sector exchanges such as the political, nuclear energy, space cooperation and so on." Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said.
China-Arab relations have enjoyed a fruitful ten years since the launch of the forum in 2004. Bilateral trade volume has increased at 25 percent year on year to more than 200 billion US dollars last year. China has signed 29 billion US dollars worth of agreements with its Arab partners. Cultural exchanges are also on the rise. The number of Arab students in China is increasing at a rate of 30 percent year on year, while China has set up 13 Confucius schools in those countries.
"Although the Middle East has had some turmoil in the past decade but bilateral trade with China has increased steadily. Political mutual trust and respect has been a solid foundation for China Arab relations. But there’s still room for improvement in the future. For example China has always supported the Middle East on the Palestinian issue and Syrian crisis, actively looking for peaceful solutions. As China takes on a bigger international role it should do more to promote peace and economic development in the region." Professor Wu Bingbin with Peking University said.
China and the Arab world has enjoyed a time honored friendship, as China gradually begins to play a bigger role in the international arena, experts say their relationship is expected to see improved growth in all aspects in the coming years.