China-Arab States Cooperation Forum to boost ties, promote regional peace: experts

The upcoming 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum presents an opportunity to further boost relations between China and the Arab world and to promote regional peace, according to experts from the both sides.

The forum, which is to be held in Beijing on Thursday, will study the specific measures to implement the consensuses reached by leaders, expand China-Arab cooperation in various fields and promote the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future, according to Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li at a press briefing held in Beijing on Monday.

The meeting plans to adopt a number of outcome documents to further build consensus between China and the Arab countries and plan the next stage of cooperation, according to Deng.

"The overarching context for this forum (conference) is the emergence of two major trends in recent years on the international stage: a trend towards turmoil, division, and sanctions, and a trend towards peaceful development. It is clear that both China and Arab countries are committed to economic development and regional peace. China and the Arab world share common aspirations, goals, and interests, both globally and in the Middle East," said Niu Xinchun, executive director of the China-Arab Research Institute at northwest China's Ningxia University.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Over the past two decades, the forum has established 19 crucial mechanisms, including ministerial meetings, strategic political dialogue, reform and development forums, and energy cooperation conferences. These platforms have facilitated the release of 85 significant outcome documents, setting a benchmark for collective cooperation among developing countries.

At the first China-Arab States Summit in 2022, the two sides agreed to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, and China-Arab relations entered a new era of comprehensive deepening development.

"Since its establishment, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum has always focused on cooperation and thecommon interests between Arab states and China in the political, cultural and economic fields, helping the two sides strengthen the friendly relations that have existed for thousands of years," said Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy, head of the League of Arab States' China representative office.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, will co-chair the meeting with Mohamed Salem Ould Merzouk, Mauritania's minister of foreign affairs, cooperation and Mauritanians abroad.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary general of the League of Arab States, along with foreign ministers or representatives of the Arab states will attend the meeting.

China-Arab States Cooperation Forum to boost ties, promote regional peace: experts

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan road-rail intermodal transport service had handled a total of 100 trains this year as of Friday, marking a regular and expanded operation of the intermodal transport service, according to the China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd. in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Since the beginning of July, the number of cargo trains arriving in Xinjiang's Kashgar City for further transit has increased to an average of two per day.

"The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan road-rail intermodal transport system capitalizes on Kashgar's favorable location, cutting transit time by around five days compared to other routes and reducing costs by nearly 30 percent," said Fang Zijun, a business manager at Kashgar inland port multimodal transport company.

In March, Kashgar Customs implemented a new clearance model where goods are inspected at the point of origin, allowing them to be proceeded directly to their destination without additional customs checks at the border. This change has reduced customs processing time from three to five days to just six to eight hours, significantly enhancing the efficiency of the multimodal transport service.

In the past five years, Kashgar has handled trains from various regions across China such as south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), north China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, southwest China's Sichuan Province and east China's Jiangsu Province.

These trains carried over 300 types of goods, ranging from new energy vehicles to machinery components, opening up a new international trade channel that stretches to Central and West Asia, as well as Europe.

China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan road-rail transport system achieves milestone with regular, expanded operations