A rare and intense visit by Gulf Ministers to China.. It reviews the areas of Gulf-Chinese cooperation and pushes the strengthening of friendship and cooperation relations
The Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, stressed today (Monday) the importance of strengthening the Gulf-Chinese relations to serve common interests.
This came during the official visit of the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council to China at the invitation of State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi, accompanied by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, the visit to China started from the 10th and continues to the 14th of January.
Commenting on the visit, Wael Khalil Yassine, chairman of the Middle East Studies and Development Center , and he also a consultant specializing in research of the Chinese State Council policy on West Asia and North Africa, said that the roots of friendship between China and Arab countries go deep into history. China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have remained linked to the Silk Road by land and sea for more than the past 2000 years, in which peace, cooperation, openness, tolerance, study, benefit and profit remain the prevailing values of communication among them.
Yassine added that China enjoys close relations with the GCC countries, especially these days, especially with the relentless effort to upgrade it to the level of “economic partnership” to the level of “comprehensive strategic partnership”, meaning close cooperation in all fields, and there is a real desire on both sides to develop this Partnership to broader horizons.
Regarding the objectives of the visit, Yassine said that this visit comes as a consolidation of the strong will of both parties to consolidate the partnership, and the file of free trade negotiations between the GCC and China will be reviewed, preparations for the tenth round of negotiations, and ways to enhance investment of bilateral opportunities in common areas, especially since China is the first trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Yassine concluded that the policy pursued by China over the past 60 years, and Chinese-Arab friendly cooperation in general and the Gulf in particular, has achieved a historic leap in breadth and depth, and has become a model for international emulation in cooperation and gained experience and successful experiences, as the two sides are committed to mutual respect and dealing on the same footing. equality and remained brothers, friends and partners, regardless of the fluctuations of the situation on the international scene; They adhere to mutual benefit, common gain and common development, and have been striving for common interest and sustainable development, regardless of changes in internal conditions. They are working to promote dialogue, communication and cultural exchange, and they have been respecting the political systems and development methods of the other side, regardless of their ideological differences.
On the first day of the visit, the Gulf delegation discussed aspects of cooperation in areas of common interest, in light of the framework agreement for economic, investment and technical cooperation signed between the GCC countries and the People’s Republic of China in June 2004 AD, in the Chinese capital, Beijing, as well as the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides in 2010. .Al-Hajraf expressed – according to what was reported by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), today (Monday) – that the visit would contribute to strengthening the Gulf-Chinese relations, noting that the visit represented an opportunity to review the areas of Gulf-Chinese cooperation and to advance and strengthen friendship and cooperation relations, in a manner that serves Common interests and efforts to enhance security and stability and confront challenges
