Keynote Speech by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at
The Opening of the Third Ministerial Meeting of
The China-Arab Cooperation Forum
Manama, 21 May 2008

Your Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Co-Chair of the Ministerial Meeting,

Your Excellency Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, we are gathered here in the beautiful city of Manama to jointly host the Third Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and plan for the future of China-Arab relations. I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Government, warm congratulations on the opening of the meeting and heartfelt thanks to my Arab colleagues for your long-standing commitment to the growth of China-Arab relations and the development of the Forum. My thanks also go to the Kingdom of Bahrain for its thoughtful arrangements that have ensured the successful convening of the meeting and the Secretariat of the League of Arab States for its important role in coordinating and organizing this event. I also wish to give my special thanks to Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain for attending the opening ceremony and for his warm remarks on China-Arab relations and the development of the Forum.

There exists profound traditional friendship between China and Arab countries. People of the two sides have always rendered each other sympathy and support in times of need. In the wake of the massive earthquake that hit Wenchuan County in China's Sichuan Province on 12 May, many leaders of Arab countries expressed sympathies to China and offered donations and disaster relief materials. This brings home the friendship of the Arab people towards the Chinese people, and constitutes a strong support to the relief efforts of the Chinese Government and people. The Chinese Government and people would like to express heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of Arab countries for your sympathies and assistance. I was deeply touched when all the participants to the meeting stood in a silent tribute to the victims of the earthquake. It shows that the thoughts of the Arab people are with the Chinese people and we are friends and brothers who can feel each other's pain and share weal and woe together. Once again, I thank our Arab friends for the sympathies you have expressed. I am confident that under the strong leadership of the Chinese Government and with the concerted efforts of the Chinese people and the support of our Arab brothers and the entire international community, we will prevail over this disaster and rebuild our beautiful homeland.

Not long ago, the Beijing Olympic torch relay was successfully held in Muscat, which is a shared pride of the people of China, Oman and all Arab countries. The Chinese Government and people would like to thank Arab countries and people for your firm support for the Beijing Olympic Games.

Dear Arab Friends,

We have all along supported and coordinated with each other in international and regional affairs. Our mutual political trust is increasing and our economic ties are getting closer. The growth of China-Arab relations has set a good example for contemporary international relations and made significant contributions to world peace and progress.

The world today is undergoing major transformations and readjustments, and China and the Arab world are facing similar challenges and opportunities. China has been pursuing reform and opening up for 30 years, and has embarked step-by-step on a development path suited to its own national conditions. Following the new requirements of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and guided by the new vision of building a harmonious world, China will continue to pursue peaceful development and the opening-up strategy. China is ready to share development opportunities with Arab countries and other members of the international community and jointly address all kinds of challenges. Committed to the strategic choice of peace and the independent endeavor to explore development paths, Arab countries are now playing an increasingly important role in the world arena and having a stronger influence in the fields of global security and world economy.

The common responsibilities and goals have linked us more closely together and pushed China-Arab relations to a new historical starting point. Under the new circumstances, peace and sustainable development have become an important part of the new type of China-Arab partnership. China is ready to make joint efforts with Arab countries in the following fields:

-Become equal partners of mutual trust and deepen friendship in the political field. Mutual support for each other's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity is the political cornerstone for China-Arab relationship. Against the backdrop of accelerating globalization, it is all the more important for China and Arab countries to deepen political cooperation. China will continue to firmly support Arab countries in pursuing the just cause of restoring lawful national rights and interests and independently exploring and choosing paths of development. China appreciates Arab countries' commitment to the one China policy and thanks the League of Arab States for adopting a resolution on the one China policy at its Summit.

-Become partners of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation to achieve common development. Both China and Arab countries are in an important period of development, and our interdependence and shared interests are increasing. We should make full use of the complementarity of our respective strengths in resources, market, capital and technology, enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and accommodate each other's legitimate concerns. We should advance the building of relevant free trade areas and economic and trade cooperation zones so as to speed up the two-way free flow of commodities, capital, technology and services. We should take mutual investment as a priority area in our efforts to raise the level of business cooperation, provide favorable conditions to each other, establish and improve relevant laws and regulations, and create a better investment environment. We should strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the energy field and work together to maintain the stability of the global energy market.

-Become partners of exchanges and mutual learning to jointly promote prosperity and progress of human civilization. The diversity of civilizations is a basic feature of the world and a source of strength for social development and progress. We should follow the principles of equality, openness and inclusiveness, actively promote dialogue among civilizations, expand cooperation in such fields as culture, press and education, and strengthen exchanges and interactions between the Chinese and the Arab civilizations. We should enhance consultation and coordination, promote harmonious co-existence among civilizations, oppose the self-centered practice of belittling and excluding other cultures, and jointly promote the diversity of the world.

-Become partners of coordination and cooperation to promote stability in the Middle East and build a harmonious world. Given the prolonged turbulence in this region, a stable and peaceful Middle East is the shared aspiration of the people in this region and around the world. We should enhance strategic dialogue and jointly advocate a just and fair settlement of various disputes and differences in this region through political means and consultation. We should make full use of the collective political consultation mechanism of the "China-Arab Cooperation Forum", strengthen coordination on regional hotspot issues, work for the establishment and improvement of multilateral mechanisms that will help the UN play its important role, and contribute to the easing of tension in this region. We should enhance cooperation in multilateral political and economic affairs, in particular, policy coordination on such issues as the Doha Round negotiations, climate change and UN reform, so as to ensure that the international system evolves in a positive way and uphold the common interests of developing countries.

Dear Friends,

Following the trend of the times, "China-Arab Cooperation Forum" is a pioneering undertaking for deepening China-Arab friendship. Thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, a cooperation framework with political, business and cultural cooperation as the main priorities supplemented by cooperation in other sectors has been established. The Forum has become an important platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation between China and Arab countries.

Reviewing the development of the Forum over the past two years, we are happy to note that the two sides have carried out close cooperation and active coordination, followed a pragmatic and efficient approach and scored great achievements in implementing the outcome document of the Ministerial Meeting in Beijing.

We have, in accordance with our commitments, trained 1,500 management and technology personnel for Arab countries. Thanks to our hard work, our two-way trade is expected to hit the target of US$100 billion ahead of schedule. We have launched a series of activities under the Forum framework, including the China-Arab Business Conference, the Seminar on Dialogue among Civilizations, the Conference of China-Arab Friendship and several workshops on environmental protection, petrochemical industry and agriculture. We have further strengthened the institutional building of the Forum and successfully held, for the first time, the China-Africa Energy Conference, the China-Arab Press Cooperation Forum and the Conference of China-Arab Friendship. The smooth progress in the building of the Forum and the growing influence of the Forum have injected fresh vitality into China-Arab friendship and cooperation. China would like to thank all Arab countries for your active participation in these endeavors. Our thanks also go to the Secretariat of the League of Arab States for its effective coordination and the Arab Ambassadors Council in China for its unremitting efforts.

Dear Friends,

"Well begun is half done". The rapid growth of China-Arab relationship has provided unprecedented historical opportunities for the building of the Forum. We hope that through the Ministerial Meeting in Bahrain, we will be able to further increase the activities of the Forum, add substance to it and improve its institutions so as to make the Forum an important channel and an effective means for building a new type of China-Arab partnership. China wishes to make the following proposals on the building of the Forum:

First, give priority to development cooperation and focus on real needs. Cooperation is the primary task of the Forum. The two sides should proceed from their own development need and increase input in such priority areas as energy, investment, project contracting and human resources training. China is ready to enhance consultation with Arab countries and facilitate the building of the China-Arab investment workshop mechanism. China will expand the scale of human resources training programs for Arab countries and train 1,000 management and technology personnel for Arab countries every year in the next three years. China is ready to explore with Arab countries ways to change the trade growth model, improve trade mix and ease trade imbalances. China hopes that the specialized councils of the League of Arab States will play a bigger role and create conditions for collective project cooperation in infrastructure building and high-tech sectors.

Second, adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach and bring into play our unique strengths. The Forum is a new thing in China-Arab relations, and its development should be based on reality. The two sides should take into full account their differences in national conditions and needs, focus on practical results, and take a flexible approach to develop distinctive and efficient models of cooperation. We can gradually strengthen the interactions between the Forum and the Gulf Cooperation Council and other Arab regional organizations and seek new cooperation opportunities. We can establish cooperative relations with international and multilateral development agencies on a selective basis so as to integrate the Forum into the global network of development cooperation. We can also explore the possibility of cooperation with third parties under the Forum framework so as to expand the influence of the Forum.

Third, make innovative efforts to strengthen institutional building. Innovation is the source of vitality for the Forum. The two sides need to sum up the experience and lessons in building the Forum in a timely fashion, explore potential and further enrich the existing cooperation mechanisms. The two sides should, in the light of the evolving situation and real needs, speed up resources consolidation and facilitate the institutionalization of the energy conference, the press cooperation forum, exchanges of arts festivals and other activities.

Dear Friends,

Further developing China-Arab friendship and cooperation is our common aspiration. Strengthening the China-Arab Cooperation Forum is our shared responsibility. China is ready to work with Arab countries to steadily enhance the work of the Forum and make new contributions to the consolidation and development of China-Arab friendship.

I wish the Ministerial Meeting a great success.

Thank you.