China says open to Arab cooperation on Belt and Road Initiative

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - China on Thursday offered "cooperation and joint promotion" to Arab nations for its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“China and Arab states have in recent years continued to strengthen strategic coordination and synergy of actions, and the joint construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful results,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a letter addressed to the fifth China-Arab States Expo.

The four-day expo opened Thursday in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, state-run Xinhua News reported.

Xi said China is “willing to jointly promote high-quality BRI cooperation with Arab states.”

The BRI, also known as One Belt One Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy launched by China in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.

He said that the traditional friendship between the peoples of China and Arab states “has become stronger over time.”

China has emerged as the largest trading partner of Arab countries.

Xi said China and Arab countries joined hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, “setting an example of helping each other and overcoming difficulties together.”

Beijing supplied its vaccines to many Arab nations. It also held trials of its vaccines at the manufacturing stage in a few Arab states.

“China is ready to work with Arab states to seek cooperation and development, promote peaceful development, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, elevate China-Arab strategic partnership to a higher level, and jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era,” the Chinese president said.