Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that "China is ready to work with Arab countries to jointly build the Belt and Road and push the China-Arab strategic partnership to a higher level."
This came in a message he delivered at the opening of the Fifth China and Arab Countries Exhibition, which was hosted by "Yinchuan", capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
In his message, President Xi said, "In recent years, China and Arab countries have continued to strengthen strategic coordination and concerted action, and the joint construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful results." He stressed that "China remains the largest trading partner for Arab countries." He explained that "China and Arab countries have combined efforts to combat COVID-19, and set an example to help each other and overcome difficulties together." He stressed that "China is ready to work with Arab countries to strive to enhance cooperation, achieve development and mutual benefit, win-win results, and jointly build the Belt and Road."
Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani stressed that "the Arab countries and China complement each other greatly in their economies and enjoy broad prospects for cooperation, which pushes the continuous development of practical bilateral cooperation based on mutual benefit."
For his part, Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Al-Jarandi thanked China for the support it provided to Arab countries, by participating in providing its experience in combating the Corona epidemic by providing vaccines and medical supplies. He pointed out that "the international community must work together to mitigate the effects of the disease on peoples and the economy."
In turn, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said, "Cooperation in the public health sector will be the focus of China and Arab countries in the post-pandemic stage. The two sides should deepen cooperation in the healthcare sector, including the procurement of medical supplies and the production of vaccines." He stressed that "China, which is now the largest trading partner of Arab countries, has confidence in expanding cooperation with Arab countries in the areas of digital economy, new energy, artificial intelligence and other emerging fields."
"The vaccine is a powerful weapon to defeat the disease and promote economic recovery, so all parties should establish closer relations in health sector cooperation, and support global cooperation on vaccines to address the imbalance problem in vaccine distribution," said Sun Ping, vice president of China Import and Export Bank.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, "China and the Arab countries have exchanged assistance after the (Covid-19) outbreak, and the two sides have demonstrated the brotherly bond between them in difficult times, through concrete actions. So far, China has sent about 100 million doses of Chinese vaccines to Arab countries in the form of aid or exports. We are working with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in a joint operation to mobilize and produce vaccines, which has provided strong support to Arab countries in their fight against the virus”.
