Egypt's Abu Ghir Container Terminal Project has completed the opening and operation of a 600m wharf shoreline, part of the tunnel adit project of the Saudi New Future City has been completed and handed over, and the first three office buildings of Egypt's new administrative capital CBD project have been started for acceptance. Since the new year, good news has been coming from the construction of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation project jointly built by China and Arab countries.

Multi domain weaving cooperation network

The year 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative. This year, nearly 20 Middle Eastern countries attended the third the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in a high standard, and the joint construction of the the Belt and Road ushered in a new stage of higher quality and higher level development; This year, China and Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote the construction of the "the Belt and Road". So far, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has achieved "full coverage" of all 22 Arab countries and the League of Arab States; In the first half of 2023, the trade volume between China and Afghanistan reached 1999 billion US dollars, and China's new direct investment in Afghanistan increased by 7% year-on-year.

Over the years, China and Arab countries have consolidated the stock of cooperation, expanded the increment of cooperation, and achieved simultaneous progress in many fields such as traditional energy and new energy, traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure, traditional commerce and new technology. Under the framework of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", China and Argentina have implemented more than 200 large-scale cooperation projects, and the results of cooperation have benefited nearly 2 billion people of both sides, effectively promoting the circulation of goods, capital, technology and personnel in relevant regions.

Egyptian Prime Minister Madbury pointed out that the Central Business District project of Egypt's new administrative capital is a symbol of China Egypt friendship. During the project construction process, Chinese enterprises introduced and promoted advanced management models and construction technologies, driving local workers to employment and promoting the development of Egypt's construction industry.

Deepen docking to promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes

In October 2023, during the "the Belt and Road" Entrepreneurs Conference, Chinese enterprises signed 44 cooperation agreements with more than a dozen Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, and other countries, involving oil refining, wind power, photovoltaic, desalination and other projects. The Russian satellite news agency reported that China and Arab countries are cleverly utilizing each other's advantages to achieve trade diversification.

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China Arab States Cooperation Forum. The 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum is scheduled to be held in China this year, which will open up new prospects and inject new impetus into China Arab relations. Secretary General Gheit of the Arab League stated that the Arab side will continue to implement the results of the first China Arab Summit and important consensus among leaders, and take the new ministerial level meeting as an opportunity to deepen cooperation in various fields. In January this year, the third Saudi "Future Mining Forum" was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Many Chinese enterprises participated in the forum and expressed that under the historical opportunity of deep connection between the "the Belt and Road" initiative and Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision", China Saudi Arabia energy and mining cooperation will bear more fruits.

Exchange and mutual learning to showcase beauty and cooperation

Dancers from the Chinese performance team dressed in various ethnic costumes made their debut at the 3rd Shatqaimam International Mountain Performance Art Festival, winning unanimous praise from the Saudi public and the international performance team on site; The 2024 Moroccan "Happy Spring Festival · Chinese Temple Fair" event opened on the Handicraft Street in the old city of Rabat, attracting many people to stop and admire; The Central Ballet of China has brought the Chinese New Year ballet "Chinese New Year" to the Palace Theater in the United Arab Emirates, marking the beginning of the 2024 Abu Dhabi International Art Festival. Since the beginning of this year, multiple cultural exchange activities have been held in various countries to promote mutual learning and innovation between Chinese and Arab civilizations.

As of 2023, according to incomplete statistics, 4 Arab countries have announced the inclusion of Chinese language into their national education systems, 15 Arab countries have established Chinese language departments in their respective regions, 13 Arab countries have established 22 Confucius Institutes, and more than 50 higher education institutions in China have opened Arabic language majors.

Salah Alnazib, diplomat of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in China, believes that Iraq and China have a long history, and the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative will further strengthen cooperation and development between China and Arab countries.

The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has gone through the first vigorous decade and is embracing a new golden decade.

Knowing each other for thousands of years, working together to create the future. Looking forward to 2024, China and Arab countries are expected to continue to work together to build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality on the basis of peaceful cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win results, and build a "development belt", "heart to heart bridge", and "happiness road" connecting China and Arab countries.Editor/XingWentao