Arab countries look forward to increasing agricultural cooperation with China

"China has achieved agricultural development and modernization with modern and renewable technologies, which has been one of the key areas of exchanges, cooperation and capacity building between the two countries." On August 20, Jordan's Ambassador to China Hussam Hosseini delivered a video speech at the fifth China-Arab States Expo modern Agriculture Cooperation Conference, looking forward to further cooperation with China.

Camel bells are ringing in the desert. The ancient Silk Road once brought Chinese iron-smelting and well-digging technologies to Arab countries. Crops such as flax, pomegranate, grape and alfalfa were also introduced to China through the Silk Road.

Now, with the help of china-Arab States Expo this platform, China's agriculture is writing a new chapter of going out and bringing in. The modern Agricultural cooperation Conference is an important measure to promote the formation of a diversified pattern of international agricultural cooperation.

The conference screened 36 signed cooperation projects with a total amount of 2 billion yuan. Among them, under the framework of "China-Arab States Cooperation" and "The Belt and Road", four agricultural cooperation projects were signed, including the introduction of new agricultural technologies and equipment and the introduction of trade promotion, and 28 agricultural investment and trade cooperation agreements focused on agricultural industries with distinctive advantages.

Hosseini said Jordan, a country surrounded by desert, faces a water shortage. During his visit to Ningxia, he saw the traditional agricultural sector, desert agriculture and modern technologies for combating desertification. "If we want to achieve high-quality agricultural development, we must take the road of modern agricultural development. We welcome China's establishment of an agricultural technology research and Transfer center in Jordan and look forward to more cooperation between Jordan and China in the agricultural field." He said.

Qu Sixi, representative of the United Nations World Food Program in China, said that there are many similarities between the natural resources conditions and agricultural development types of Arab countries and Ningxia and other provinces and regions of China. He would like to take this conference as an opportunity to help China and Arab countries develop modern agriculture. In particular, exchanges and cooperation have been carried out in the areas of specialty industries in arid regions, integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, construction of market systems for agricultural products, agricultural mechanization, agricultural informatization, water-saving technologies, and utilization of fungus and grass technologies, actively promoting the transformation of the global food system and improving the food security and nutrition level of all mankind.

We have learned, since 2013, china-arab exposition held four consecutive terms agricultural sector activity, has more than 80 countries and regions, both at home and abroad more than 50 business association, more than 500 enterprises to participate in, in areas such as planting industry, animal husbandry, agricultural facilities, trade and investment cooperation agreement signed nearly 50, investment and trade amount accumulative total more than 1.1 billion yuan.

Digital transformation will be the focus of future cooperation between Afghanistan and China

When talking about Arab countries, people often think of rich oil resources, which is also an important area of China-Arab cooperation. At present, China has become the largest trading partner of Arab countries, and Arab countries are China's largest overseas supplier of crude oil. But is there one thing that might steal the spotlight from the black gold in China-Arab cooperation?

In a recent interview with China News Service, Mohammed al-Ajilan, vice chairman of Saudi Ajilan Brothers Holding Group and Chairman of Saudi-china Business Council, said that digital transformation will play an important role in the new era of Arabia-China cooperation.

Digital economy is a global focus in recent years. China leads the world in e-commerce and fintech, which Are in great demand of Arab countries in diversifying their economies. In 2017, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UNITED Arab Emirates and other countries jointly launched the Belt and Road Initiative for International Cooperation on Digital Economy. In July 2020, the Ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum decided to strengthen cooperation and mutual learning in the development of the Internet and digital economy.

"Saudi Arabia, as an important Arab country, is also following the pace of digital transformation." As early as 2016, Saudi Arabia released its Vision 2030 and National Transformation Plan, proposing to speed up the implementation of digital infrastructure projects, Mohammed al-Ajiran said.

He said Saudi Arabia has made great progress in digital transformation last year. On the one hand, the Cabinet approved the launch of the digital economy policy, drawing a roadmap for promoting the country's digital transformation and attracting and encouraging investment. On the other hand, the government has released national data and ARTIFICIAL intelligence strategies and accelerated efforts to promote cooperation between local Saudi companies and global leaders, such as the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinese company Huawei.

In particular, Mohamed al-Agilan mentioned that Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Chinese e-commerce companies have actively shared their technology and experience in platform construction and logistics management with Arab countries, making positive contributions to the resumption of work and production in Arab countries. Statistics show that Chinese e-commerce platforms now cover 80% of Internet users in the six Gulf countries. Such cooperation will help deepen Bilateral relations and push for greater results in the booming digital cooperation between the two sides.

If digital transformation is a key area of china-Arab cooperation in the future, the Belt and Road Initiative is seen as a perfect platform to carry out relevant cooperation. So far, China has signed bri cooperation documents with 19 Arab countries and the League of Arab States.

"Bearing in mind the common historical value created by the ancient Silk Road, China and Arab countries are committed to jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt." Mohamed el Ajilan said that in recent years, the cooperation value of the Belt and Road initiative has gradually increased with the degree of consultation, cooperation and mutual benefit between the two sides, thus becoming a road of peace, prosperity, openness, innovation and development.

He believed that mutual learning among civilizations between Arab states and China is conducive to expanding relevant areas of cooperation, strengthening the concept of sustainability in a way that serves the common interests of both sides, and further promoting sustainable growth of all countries in the world. For example, the Saudi-china Business Council has taken a series of practical measures, including optimizing several specialized committees, releasing feasibility study reports on Chinese investment in Saudi Arabia, and planning to set up two business offices in China.

In addition to being chairman of the Saudi-china Business Council, Mohammed al Ajilan is vice chairman of The Ajilan Brothers Holding Group. The company is the largest private sector group of Saudi Arabia in China. It started cooperation in China more than 30 years ago.

In 1999, the group began preparing and building its first factory in China. Since 2017, Agilan Brothers Holding Group has set up investment offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, expanded its investment to logistics, technology, manufacturing and other fields, and reached many project cooperation with SF Express, Vifortis and other Chinese enterprises.

"If we compare [China's] present with the past, we can see a huge change." China's development shows the determination and path to continuously improve the policy framework and business environment, and strengthens its commitment and confidence to take root in China's long-term development. In the future, China will continue to pay close attention to the Chinese market and share development dividends with Its Chinese partners, Said Mohamed el Agilan.