Work Together to Advance China-Arab Strategic Partnership in the New Era — — Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum (July 10, 2018, Beijing) President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China Your Highness the Emir of Sabah, Your Excellency Mr. Al-Jubeir, President of the Arab side and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Your Excellency Mr. Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Chef de Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Good morning, everyone! Four years ago, I sent an invitation to the Arab world to jointly build the "one belt and one road". Today, we are gathered here again with a vision for a bright future of China-Arab cooperation. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in my own name, I would like to extend my sincere welcome to all the distinguished guests! I would like to express my warm congratulations on the opening of the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum! The friendship between China and Arab countries has a long history.Although the two nations are far apart, they are as close as one family. On the ancient Silk Road, we joined hands in the struggle for national independence and people's liberation, shared weal and woe, supported and cooperated with each other in the cause of national development, and wrote a brilliant chapter of win-win cooperation. History and practice have proved that no matter how the international situation changes, no matter what difficulties and obstacles we face, China and Argentina have always been good partners of mutual benefit and good brothers sharing weal and woe.In order to promote the common prosperity and progress of all countries, China proposes to jointly build the "Belt and Road", uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and promote policy communication, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people communication, which has received extensive support and active participation from the international community, including the Arab world. As one of the important participants and founders of the Silk Road civilization in history, Arab countries are located at the intersection of "one belt and one road" and are natural partners in building "one belt and one road".

China has published a white paper on its policy toward Arab countries, and "Belt and Road" has become an important part of China-Arab relations. The Council of Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States adopted a resolution expressing the political will of Arab countries to collectively participate in the construction of "Belt and Road.". At this ministerial meeting, China and Arab countries will also sign the Declaration on China-Arab Cooperation in Building the "Belt and Road" Action. Over the past 4 years, we have worked hand in hand to combine the "one belt and one road" with the reality of the region, and to combine collective action with bilateral cooperation.We should combine the promotion of development with the maintenance of peace, complement each other's strengths, cooperate for win-win results, and benefit the people of the region and the world. The landing place of the "one belt and one road" construction presents a colorful and vibrant appearance, and has yielded fruitful results. Over the past 4 years, the construction of "Belt and Road" has comprehensively promoted the development of China-Arab relations, and China-Arab all-round cooperation has entered a new stage. I hereby declare that after friendly consultations, China and Arab countries have agreed to establish a strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation, common development and future-oriented relationship between China and Arab countries.This is a new historical starting point for China-Arab friendly cooperation. China is willing to strengthen strategic and operational docking with the Arab side, work together to promote the construction of "one belt and one road", work together to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East, safeguard fairness and justice, promote common development, and learn from each other as good friends, strive to build a community of destiny between China and Arab countries, and contribute to the construction of a community of human destiny. First, enhance strategic mutual trust. "When the great way is followed, the world is for all." At present,The Middle East is facing the urgent task of eliminating the tragedy of peace and solving the difficulties of development. China's Middle East policy conforms to the strong desire of the people in the Middle East for peace and development, speaks for the reasonable demands of Arab countries in the international arena, and is willing to play a greater role in promoting regional peace and stability. We must persist in dialogue and consultation. A lot of things in the Middle East are intertwined, and we have to discuss them. One cannot have the final say, and one cannot have the final say. We must adhere to the principle of sovereignty and oppose separatism. We should advocate inclusive reconciliation and oppose oppressive compromise. We should oppose terrorism, strengthen comprehensive measures and do a good job in improving people's livelihood.

China is willing to conduct more dialogue and consultations with Afghanistan on a wide range of issues, such as development for peace, collective security, humanitarian relief, navigation through sea lanes and nuclear-weapon-free zones. Here, I wish to announce that China will launch a special plan to promote economic reconstruction through industrial revitalization, provide a US $20 billion credit line, strengthen cooperation with countries in need of reconstruction, and follow the principle of commercialization to promote projects that create more jobs and promote stability and efficiency. China will provide another 600 million yuan of assistance to the people of Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon.For local humanitarian and reconstruction causes. China will also explore and implement projects with a total amount of 1 billion yuan with countries in the region to support the capacity-building of relevant countries in maintaining stability. Second, realize the dream of rejuvenation. The Arab world has superior geographical conditions and outstanding energy endowment. China and Arab countries complement each other's strengths and have converging interests. We should align our development strategies and closely link the two dreams of national rejuvenation. We must firmly grasp the "dragon head" of interconnection.China is willing to participate in the construction of relevant ports in Arab countries and the future Arab railway network, and supports the Arab side in building a gold hub logistics network connecting Central Asia and East Africa, and linking the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. We should work together to build a blue economic channel, build a marine cooperation center, promote the development of marine industry and enhance the capacity of marine public services. It is necessary to jointly build the "Belt and Road" space information corridor, develop space cooperation, and promote China's Beidou navigation system and meteorological remote sensing satellite technology to serve the construction of Arab countries.We should actively promote the "two-wheel" rotation of oil and gas cooperation and low-carbon energy cooperation. We should continue to promote the "oil and gas plus" cooperation model, deepen cooperation in the whole industrial chain of oil, natural gas exploration, exploitation, refining, storage and transportation, conform to the global energy revolution and the vigorous development of green low-carbon industries, strengthen cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy, solar energy, wind energy, hydropower and other fields, and jointly build oil and gas traction. To forge a mutually beneficial and long-term friendly energy strategic cooperative relationship between China and Argentina. Efforts should be made to realize the "two wings" of financial cooperation and high-tech cooperation. We should study how to give full play to the driving role of high and new technology and the service supporting role of financial cooperation, do a good job of short-term and long-term support for the construction of "one belt and one road", and explore the financial, scientific and technological cooperation mode that suits the needs of the Middle East and reflects the characteristics of the Middle East.

China supports the establishment of a financial platform for capacity cooperation, expands diversified investment and financing channels around the construction of industrial parks, and promotes the trinity of park services, enterprise growth and financial support. China supports relevant Chinese financial and securities institutions to cooperate with sovereign wealth funds and management institutions of Arab countries to establish an international trading platform based on the Gulf, covering the Middle East and North Africa and attracting global investors, so as to achieve free flow of factors, efficient allocation of resources and deep integration of markets to serve the construction of "one belt and one road".To promote inter-bank exchanges and cooperation, China will establish a "China-Arab Inter-bank Consortium" with a US $3 billion special loan for financial cooperation. China is willing to strengthen bilateral cooperation in digital economy, artificial intelligence, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, smart cities and other fields in the light of Arab countries' medium- and long-term development strategic plans. We should implement the China-Arab Science and Technology Partnership Program and jointly build joint laboratories in key areas of interest to both sides. We should speed up the construction of the Silk Road on the Internet and strive for more consensus and achievements in cooperation in the fields of network infrastructure, big data, cloud computing and e-commerce.Third, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. China will continue to deepen reform in an all-round way, adhere to the basic state policy of opening to the outside world, and continue to open the door to development. In the next five years, China will import more than US $8 trillion of goods and invest more than US $750 billion overseas, which will bring more cooperation opportunities and tangible benefits to Arab countries. We should continue to make good use of special loans and preferential loans to support industrialization in the Middle East, and encourage Chinese enterprises to participate in the development, construction, investment and operation of the park.Promote industrial agglomeration. China welcomes the participation of Arab countries in the first China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in November this year, and will achieve full coverage of Arab countries' participation in the Expo and comprehensive trade and investment exhibitions in the next five years. China is willing to pragmatically push forward negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council for Arab States and the Palestinian Free Trade Area, and is also willing to explore the possibility of signing a comprehensive free trade agreement with more Arab countries. Fourth, promote inclusiveness and mutual learning.The vitality of civilization lies in exchanges and exchanges. Historically, the Chinese and Arab civilizations have added radiance and beauty to each other. Today, we need to learn more wisdom and nutrition from each other. The China-Arab Research Center for Reform and Development, which I initiated, is working well and has become an ideological platform for the two sides to exchange experience in reform, opening up and governance. In the future, the center should become bigger and stronger, and provide more intellectual support for both sides. We should spread the concept of peace, harmony and truth-seeking, and make a success of the China-Arab Civilization Dialogue and the Round Table on De-Extremism. We should eliminate misunderstandings through dialogue, resolve differences through tolerance, and create a good atmosphere of integrity and action. We should dig deeply into the contents of different religions to promote harmony, health and progress, and do a good job of doctrine interpretation in accordance with the requirements of the progress of the times. We should work together to build a cyber civilization and jointly oppose extremist and hateful speech on the Internet.

In order to promote emotional and spiritual communication between the Chinese and Arab people, in the next three years, China will invite 100 young innovative leaders, 200 young scientists and 300 scientific and technological personnel from Arab countries to China for seminars, 100 religious personages and 600 political party leaders to visit China, and provide 10000 training places for Arab countries. Send another 500 medical team members to Arab countries. I hereby announce the official establishment of the China-Arab Press Exchange Center.The Sino-Arab Electronic Library Portal Project was officially launched, and the fourth "Arab Art Festival" jointly held by China and Arab countries in China was officially launched. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends! Both China and Arab countries are important political forces in the international arena, and China-Arab cooperation should continue to develop in the tide of world development and progress and in the pace of human history. Peace, reform and development are the common needs of all countries in the Middle East, and stability, tranquility and happiness are the common pursuit of the people in the Middle East.All parties should accurately grasp the historical trend, sincerely respond to the voice of the people, and work together to promote a new path of comprehensive revitalization in the Middle East. The diversity of the Middle East should be a source of regional dynamism. We should respect the differences in national conditions and independent choices of each country, treat each other as equals and seek common ground while reserving differences. Extraterritorial forces should do more to promote peace talks and provide positive energy for peace and development in the Middle East. We should abandon the idea of exclusive security and absolute security, not engage in "you lose, I win, I am the only one", and build a common,A comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security architecture. Development holds the key to many governance problems in the Middle East. The potential for development should be released through reform, and the driving force for progress should be enhanced through opening up. All parties should always keep cooperation in mind, make more win-win additions and multiplications, pool their development efforts, complement each other's strengths and share prosperity. The Arab nation is an ancient, tenacious and wise nation, which has created a brilliant civilization with the spirit of not fearing challenges and following the trend of the times.As long as the Arab countries are United, no difficulty or risk can stop you. The Palestinian issue is the root cause of peace in the Middle East. The Chinese people have always had a sense of justice and compassion. We call on all parties concerned to abide by the international consensus and deal with the Palestinian issue fairly so as not to sow the seeds of more conflicts in the region. We support the convening of a new international conference on the question of Palestine and the exploration of an innovative mechanism to promote peace in the Middle East, so as to push the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks out of the deadlock as soon as possible on the basis of the "two-state solution" and the "Arab peace initiative".

We need to give more practical support to the Palestinian people. I now announce that China will provide Palestine with another RMB 100 million yuan of grant assistance to support Palestine's economic development and improve people's livelihood. China will also provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Palestine and make additional contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends! It serves as an important platform for China and Arab countries to carry out equal dialogue and strengthen pragmatic cooperation.The China-Arab Cooperation Forum has great potential in promoting the docking between the two sides. To adapt to the development of Sino Arab relations in the new era, the construction of the forum should have a new atmosphere and new achievements. We should rationally allocate resources, revitalize the stock, make good use of the increment, strengthen the mechanisms of energy, news, Beidou navigation and entrepreneurs'forum, and actively promote the establishment of mechanisms for women, youth and tourism. The work of the forum should be close to the actual needs of both sides, through strengthening exchanges, so that the two sides can form more convergence of ideas, so that collective action will be more powerful. As an Arab proverb says, "Words are the leaves, but actions are the fruits.". Ancient Chinese said, "With perseverance, stone and stone can be engraved.". Let us carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road, move forward step by step towards the goal, and make unremitting efforts to realize the great rejuvenation of the two nations and promote the building of a community of interests and destinies between China and Arab countries! In conclusion, I wish this meeting a complete success. Shukla! Thank you.