Xi says China willing to make China-Arab relations model for maintaining world peace, stability

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said China will work with the Arab side to make China-Arab relations a model for maintaining world peace and stability, a fine example of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, a paradigm of harmonious coexistence between civilizations, and a model for promoting good global governance.

Xi made the remarks as he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

As changes unseen in a century unfold rapidly across the world, both China and Arab states strive to accomplish their historical missions of national rejuvenation and foster national development. Building a China-Arab community with a shared future is a strong statement of our common desire for a new era of China-Arab relations and a better future for the world, Xi said.

Xi said China is ready to work with the Arab side to put in place "five cooperation frameworks" to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

At the first China-Arab States Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2022, Xi put forward "eight major cooperation initiatives" for practical cooperation.

Early harvests have been achieved in all the "eight major cooperation initiatives," Xi said, adding that, moving forward, China is ready to work with the Arab side on that basis to put in place "five cooperation frameworks" to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

The five frameworks consist of a more dynamic framework for innovation, an expanded framework for investment and finance cooperation, a more multifaceted framework for energy cooperation, a more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties, and a broader framework for people-to-people exchanges.

Xi said war should not continue indefinitely, justice should not be absent forever, and commitment to the two-State solution should not be wavered at will.

The Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it. Since last October, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has escalated drastically, throwing the people into tremendous sufferings, Xi said.

China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine's full membership in the UN, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference, he added.

Xi noted China will continue to provide assistance to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support post-conflict reconstruction, and support the work of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in providing emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza.