On May 30, President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and delivered a keynote speech, while the heads of state of Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates were invited to attend. At a time when the global economic recovery is weak and the regional situation is turbulent, China and the UAE have strengthened dialogue and exchanges, releasing positive energy and bringing positive impacts to promote international cooperation and regional stability.

A core initiative

President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony titled “Deepen Cooperation, Build on the Past, and Push the Construction of China-Arab Community of Destiny to Run at an Accelerated Speed,” proposing once again the construction of China-Arab Community of Destiny, pointing out that “the construction of China-Arab Community of Destiny demonstrates our common desire to open up a new era in China-Arab relations and create a new future for a better world.”

Looking back at history, China and Arab countries have suffered from bullying and external intervention. China and the Arab countries have known each other for more than 70 years, supported each other's cause of national independence and liberation, continuously strengthened strategic mutual trust, and jointly written a profound chapter of friendship and cooperation.

Nowadays, under the great changes that the world has not seen in a century, China and Afghanistan share the same dream of national revitalization, uphold the same spirit of fairness and justice, and take the same road of cooperation and development, and are good brothers and partners in promoting the development of the international community and the progress of global governance. The building of a Sino-Arab community of destiny will not only benefit both sides, but also contribute to a new type of international relations centered on win-win cooperation.

Two points in time

In January 2004, China and Arab countries jointly announced the establishment of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum (CACF) at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, Egypt; and in December 2022, the first China-Arab Summit was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where President Xi Jinping attended the summit and delivered a keynote speech, and China and the Arab countries jointly issued the Riyadh Declaration of the First China-Arab Summit.

This year's China-Arab Cooperation Forum (CACF) coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the CACF and is the first forum ministerial meeting held after the first China-Arab Summit. Therefore, this event is not only an important meeting to review the effectiveness of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum mechanism over the past 20 years, but also an important main diplomatic event to implement the achievements of the Head of State's diplomacy, which is of great significance to carry on the past and start the future.

Three Outcome Documents

This year's China-Arab Cooperation Forum has adopted three outcome documents, namely the Beijing Declaration, the China-Arab Cooperation Forum Action Implementation Plan for 2024-2026, and the Joint Statement of China and the Arab Countries on the Question of Palestine.

Among them, the Beijing Declaration reviewed the important consensus of the first Sino-Arab Summit and the progress in the implementation of its outcomes, spelled out the practical path to promote the building of the Sino-Arab community of destiny, and elaborated the common position of the two sides on regional hotspot issues and global governance issues. The Action Implementation Plan makes plans for the next two years for China and Afghanistan to strengthen the construction of the forum mechanism and promote multi-bilateral cooperation in various fields. The Joint Statement expresses China and Afghanistan's deep concern over the Gaza conflict, emphasizes the promotion of a ceasefire in Gaza to stop the war, ensures humanitarian relief, opposes the forced transfer of the Palestinian people, supports Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations, and pushes for an early resolution of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the “two-state solution”.

The three important outcomes demonstrate the sincerity of China and the Arab Republic of China to work together through thick and thin and to cooperate pragmatically, and further highlight China's and the Arab Republic of China's moral commitment to upholding international justice and promoting regional peace and stability.

Four Connotations of Relationship

At the first China-Arab Summit in 2022, President Xi Jinping put forward the China-Arab friendship spirit of “mutual help, equality and mutual benefit, tolerance and mutual understanding”, pointing out that mutual help is the distinctive feature of China-Arab friendship, equality and mutual benefit is the inexhaustible driving force of China-Arab friendship, and tolerance and mutual understanding is the value orientation of China-Arab friendship.

At this forum, President Xi Jinping has expanded the above spirit, proposing that China is willing to work closely with the Arab side to build China-Arab relations into a benchmark for safeguarding world peace and stability, a model of high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, a model of harmonious coexistence of different civilizations, and an exemplary model for exploring the right path of global governance. The relationship has become a benchmark for maintaining world peace and stability, a model for high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, an example of harmonious coexistence among different civilizations, and a model for exploring the right path of global governance. The richer connotation of the relationship highlights the fact that China and Afghanistan are constantly moving towards each other and getting closer.

Under the leadership of head of state diplomacy, since 2022, China has established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Syria, Palestine and other countries, and has successfully facilitated the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, helping the Middle East realize unity and stability. China's interaction with Arab countries has become more and more frequent, cooperation has become closer, and the image of a moral and responsible big country has become more and more popular in the Arab world.

Five Cooperation Patterns

On the basis of the important early harvest of the “eight common actions” of China-Arab practical cooperation, President Xi Jinping has proposed that China is willing to build a five-part cooperation pattern with Afghanistan, which includes “a more dynamic innovation-driven pattern, a larger investment and financial pattern, a more three-dimensional energy cooperation pattern, a more balanced economic and trade reciprocity pattern, and a broader pattern of humanistic exchanges”. We are willing to work with the Arab side to build a “more dynamic innovation-driven pattern, a larger-scale investment and financial pattern, a more three-dimensional energy cooperation pattern, a more balanced economic and trade reciprocity pattern, and a broader humanistic exchange pattern.

The “five patterns of cooperation” is a positive outlook on the future of China and Afghanistan on the basis of summarizing the past experience of China-Arab exchanges and cooperation and judging the future development trend of the international community, and pointing out the direction and designing the roadmap for the next step of China-Arab cooperation.

Looking back at the twenty years of stormy road together, China-Arab cooperation has realized leapfrog development, China-Arab trade volume from 36.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2004 to 398 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, an increase of nearly 10 times. China-Arab cooperation has transcended energy trade and continued to develop in an all-round way in politics, finance, science and technology, and culture. In the future, China and Afghanistan will continue to expand the breadth and depth of cooperation under the leadership of head of state diplomacy. The building of a Sino-Arab community of destiny will also set a model for South-South cooperation and contribute to the transformation of the global governance system.