*** In January this year, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey and Iran in the Middle East and the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) also visited China one after another. With the increasingly close exchanges between China and Middle East countries, bilateral cooperation has ushered in broader prospects. The friendship between China and the Middle East countries has a long history, without historical grievances and practical conflicts. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1956, for more than 60 years, China and Middle East countries have treated each other sincerely and helped each other in the changing international situation. They are good friends, partners and brothers who have stood the test of time. At a time when the changes of the century and the epidemic situation of the century are intertwined and superimposed, China and the Middle East countries overcome the difficulties together, go hand in hand, and make great progress in cooperation in various fields, reflecting the profound and strong friendship between the two sides. Economically, China and the Middle East are highly complementary and willing to cooperate. China remains the largest trading partner of Arab countries. In 2020, the trade volume between China and Argentina will reach nearly 240 billion US dollars. In recent years, countries in the Middle East have made positive progress in exploring their own development paths and launched a series of plans and ideas suitable for their own development, such as Egypt's "2030 vision", Qatar's "2030 national vision" and the UAE's "development strategy for the next 50 years". One belt, one road initiative, one belt, one road initiative, the new Egyptian capital construction, the Sino Egyptian economic and trade cooperation zone, the Sino Arab (Suez) production cooperation demonstration garden and the Qatar water supply project are the successful examples of the "one belt" initiative and the Middle East countries' respective development plans. One belt, one road, is a strong driving force, and China's cooperation with the Middle East countries is expanding. The Middle East is one of the major regions of China's energy imports, and bilateral cooperation in the energy field has become a model of mutual benefit and win-win results. In recent years, the two sides have stepped up energy transformation and strengthened cooperation in exploring the use of clean energy: from the China Egypt Joint National Laboratory of renewable energy, the green intelligent water-saving irrigation technology in Qatar to the clean coal project in the UAE... The technical cooperation between China and the Middle East has yielded fruitful results. In addition, 5g, big data, artificial intelligence and other high and new technologies are also expected to become a new growth pole of bilateral cooperation. For a long time, the Middle East has suffered from the geopolitical game of hegemonism and alliance confrontation. There is an urgent need to bring positive energy to the region that is conducive to promoting peace and development. China has been actively supporting the Middle East countries in enhancing their strategic autonomy, encouraging countries in the region to get rid of the interference of geographical competition among major powers, carry forward the spirit of independence and explore a development path with Middle East characteristics. In the Middle East, China does not seek self-interest, engage in geographical competition or divide the sphere of influence. It adheres to the spirit of equality and friendship, respects the independent choice of regional countries, and is willing to make "China's contribution" to the peaceful development of the Middle East through sincere cooperation. In the face of great changes that have not been seen in a century, China and the Middle East countries will continue their historical friendship, deepen partnership, look to the future and cooperate in an all-round way, so as to make greater contributions to promoting world peace and development and building a community with a shared future for mankind. (Xinhua News Agency)