The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, stressed during his virtual participation in the International Cooperation Forum organized by the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) the role of Chinese companies in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative entitled: "Promoting Shared Prosperity by Facing Challenges and Embracing the Future," the weak and faltering global economic recovery is exacerbated by disruptions in supply chains, while areas such as climate change have been hardly addressed.
Hanafi pointed out that "In the past decades, China has become the main source of foreign investment in the Arab world, in addition to being a major economic partner for most Arab countries." He explained that "China is the second major trading partner for Arab countries, with figures reaching $330 billion in 2021. Along with hundreds of billions of investments under the Belt and Road Initiative and other high-tech infrastructure projects."
Hanafi noted that "Logistics services have witnessed progress in the Arab world in line with the huge Silk Road project, and all Arab countries are now part of the multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative project to revive the Silk Road, which constitutes a future horizon for Arab-Chinese relations." He revealed that two-thirds of China's exports to Europe and Africa now pass through the infrastructure built by Arab countries. Nine Arab countries have joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank linked to the Belt and Road Initiative.
He stressed “The importance of seizing opportunities to participate in developing ports and building railway networks in Arab countries. Supporting Arab efforts in building a logistical network linking Central Asia with East Africa and the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, to this end, we must work together to build a Maritime Cooperation Center to enhance our ability to provide ocean public services, and to create the Blue Economy Corridor.”
"We have entered an era of reglobalization. By that I mean a more selective and strategic approach to integration by businesses and economies that will reshape global flows of goods, services, finance, data, and people," he said.
He pointed out that "There is a fundamental need to strengthen cooperation in the field of innovation. We also need to rethink the community's partnership with the business community, as our goal should be to strike a balance between business needs and community needs, recognizing the mutual need for each other. From this standpoint, it is necessary to resort to science and technology to achieve more sustainable growth engines, and maintain the stability of global manufacturing and supply chains, in an effort to promote balanced, coordinated, and comprehensive development for both the Arab world and China.”
In his speech, Hanafi called for “A new approach that focuses on people's priorities, putting development and people's well-being at the top of the agenda, and strengthening practical cooperation in key areas such as poverty reduction, food security, digitization, development financing, and industrialization." He believed that “The giant “Road and Belt” initiative has effectively strengthened the institutional and material interdependence between China and the Arab countries, for this, we must seize the opportunities, make our markets more open and wide, and take new steps for mutually beneficial cooperation, which ultimately leads to building a strategic bilateral relationship that helps us usher in a brighter and better future for humanity.”
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
