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Backgrounder: China-Arab States Cooperation Forum

Xinhua, May 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Qatar and attended the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum on Thursday.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Arab world. The following is basic information about the forum.

ESTABLISHMENT

The forum was initiated in the opening years of the new millennium, after China and the countries of the Arab world had witnessed a steady growth in friendship and cooperation, generating the need for a new mechanism to fully exploit their potential and thus further enhance their cooperative relations.

In 2004, China and the Arab League (AL), whose 22 members have all established diplomatic relations with China, formally launched the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, when then Chinese President Hu Jintao visited AL headquarters in Cairo.

MISSION

The forum is designed to serve as a platform for exchanging views between China and Arab nations, promoting cooperation in politics, the economy and trade, culture, technology and international affairs while advancing peace and development.

MAJOR MECHANISMS

The Ministerial Meeting, comprising the AL secretary general and foreign ministers of China and all AL members, is the permanent mechanism of the forum and convenes for a regular session every other year, with the option for extraordinary sessions if necessary.

The Senior Officials Meeting, an annual meeting and hosted alternately by Chinese and Arab sides, takes charge of implementing resolutions made by the Ministerial Meeting and convening political consultations between the two sides.

Other mechanisms under the forum frame include the Entrepreneurs Conference and Investment Seminar, China-Arab Relations and Civilization Dialogue seminars, Sino-Arab Friendship Conference, Energy Cooperation Conference, News & Press Cooperation Forum, cultural festivals, Senior Officials Conferences in Health Policy, etc.

The forum covers a number of areas, including political, economic, cultural and humanistic to enrich the friendly exchanges between China and the Arab world. Endi