China and Arab countries will deepen practical cooperation in combating drought, desertification and land degradation in the coming five years, according to an action plan released on Saturday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The plan was released at a meeting of the Steering Committee of the China-Arab International Research Center for Drought, Desertification and Land Degradation and the China-Arab Cooperation Workshop, which were held on the sidelines of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Drought, desertification and land degradation are pressing ecological challenges shared by China and Arab nations. The action plan outlines concrete initiatives for the next five years, leveraging platforms such as the China-Arab Center and partnership networks to deepen cooperation in key areas including desertification control, degraded land management, and sandstorm monitoring and early warning.
The 17th session of the COP17 to the UNCCD officially commenced on Monday in Ulaanbaatar under the theme "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope." Delegates from UNCCD's 197 Parties, along with representatives from UN bodies, international organizations, civil society groups, research institutions and enterprises, gathered to discuss issues including restoration of degraded land, sustainable land management, drought resilience, and grassland protection and restoration.
China, Arab countries release plan for desertification control at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia
China is willing to work with the international community to build a peaceful, safe, open and cooperative outer space and let outer space exploration outcomes benefit all humanity, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Guo made the statement in response to a question on the resolution approved by the Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee) of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on "further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space" and "no first placement of weapons in outer space."
"China always advocates peaceful use of outer space and safeguarding it security, and has promoted the building of a community with a shared future for humanity in outer space. Since 2017, China and relevant countries have jointly proposed the two resolutions on 'further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space' and 'no first placement of weapons in outer space' every year to the First Committee of UNGA session, firmly opposing weaponization of outer space and arms race in there, calling for formulating international legal instruments through negotiations, so as to maintain lasting peace and common security in outer space and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity in outer space," Guo said.
"The First Committee of the 81st UNGA session once again adopted the two resolutions with a high number of votes. It marks the 10th consecutive year the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity has been included in UNGA resolutions on outer space. This fully indicates that the vision goes the trend of the times, meets the common aspiration of the international community, and has become an international public good of major hallmark significance in the world today," he said.
"The document of China's Position on Strengthening Outer Space Governance issued not long ago comes down with the vision in one line. China is willing to work with the international community to jointly build a peaceful, safe, open and cooperative outer space frontier, and promote that the fruits of outer space explorations benefit all humanity," said Guo.
Spokesman on outer space exploration achievements sharing
