With the support of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the China-Arab States Reform and Development Research Center recently held the "2021 China-Arab States Reform and Development Experts Video Conference" in Shanghai, attended by experts and scholars from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, the UNITED Arab Emirates and other countries. The meeting focused on the theme of "Jointly Building an Arab Community with a Shared Future guided by Global Development Initiatives" and held discussions on two topics, "Enhancing exchanges of Governance experience between China and Arab States, Promoting Global Development Initiatives" and "Jointly building the Belt and Road With High quality and Building a Community with a Shared Future for Development and Prosperity".
Li Chengwen, Ambassador of the Chinese Foreign Ministry for china-Arab Cooperation Forum, said in his keynote speech that the global development initiative conforms to the theme of peace and development of The Times and echoes the strong desire of people of all countries to pursue a better life. Under the guidance of the Initiative, China and Arab states should jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, further enhance people-to-people ties, expand practical cooperation, make good preparations for the first China-Arab States Summit and jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era.
Arab experts praised China's global development initiative, saying it is of great significance for all countries to cope with risks and challenges, achieve balanced development and create a better future, and has charted the course for national development and international cooperation.
Alem, former Egyptian Ambassador to China, said that at a time when the world is facing severe challenges from COVID-19, the exchanges and cooperation between The two countries in various fields are invaluable. Over the past period of time, China has achieved remarkable results in responding to the epidemic. At the same time, the economy has recovered steadily and science and technology has developed rapidly. China has actively cooperated with many other developing countries in epidemic prevention and control and provided them with important help.
In recent years, clean energy has become an important area of China-Arab cooperation. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Red Sea Comprehensive smart energy project, co-built by China State Power Investment Corporation Yellow River Upstream Hydropower Development Co., LTD., is making steady progress. As the largest off-grid integrated smart energy and energy storage project in the world, the project can realize low carbon emissions and fresh water recycling, which is of great significance to realize the linkage of Investment cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, complement each other with advantageous resources and deepen the traditional friendly relations between the two countries. Yahya Junaid, chairman of the Saudi Center for Scientific Research and Knowledge Exchange, said saudi-china relations have been getting stronger and stronger with solid progress in practical cooperation in various fields. In the future, both sides should further strengthen exchanges, cooperation and personnel training in clean energy and new technologies on the basis of mutual benefit, so as to lay a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Chinese and Arab experts and scholars attending the meeting said that the century-old changes and the pandemic are intertwined. China and Arab countries should continue to promote high-quality belt and Road development, uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, strive to achieve high-standard, sustainable and beneficial people's lives, and add new content to the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.
Sayed Ernim, executive chairman of the Uae Institute for Global Security and Defense studies, said China fully understands the problems and challenges facing the Middle East. On Middle East affairs, China has always attached importance to promoting economic cooperation, which is fundamentally different from the long-standing practice of some Western countries intervening in Middle East affairs by political and military means. We hope that the belt and Road Initiative and the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind will be more widely implemented in the Middle East and beyond.
Saleh Zayani, a professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Algeria's Batna University, said that the Belt and Road Initiative is in line with the promotion of African integration, adding that Algeria and China have a long history of traditional friendship and set a model for international relations. Many developing countries, including Algeria, regard China as a successful example for developing countries. In the face of increasingly severe global challenges, Our cooperation has not pressed the "pause button", but has shown strong resilience and vitality. The two sides should synergize their development strategies and jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality so as to provide more impetus for the development and prosperity of Afghanistan and China and the building of a community with a shared future.
The Chinese and Arab experts and scholars at the meeting generally believe that both China and Arab countries oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs under the guise of "democracy", drawing ideological lines and inciting separatism and confrontation. China and Arab countries will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder and help each other, jointly safeguard the interests of developing countries and contribute to global economic recovery and growth.
