Both China and the Arab states believe that true friendship stands out in times of adversity, which
testifies to their shared future in the joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Having gone through this joint fight against the coronavirus, the China-Arab strategic partnership
now enjoys an even stronger foundation, closer people-to-people friendship and brighter prospects
for cooperation,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said on June 22 in a congratulatory letter to the
China-Arab States Political Parties Dialogue Extraordinary Meeting.
The message from Xi, who is also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee, fully demonstrated the firm resolve and sincere wish of China and Arab states
to pool their efforts together to fight the pandemic, enhance exchanges and cooperation, and
promote the building of a community with a shared future for China and Arab states.
The CPC is committed to enhancing mutual trust, strengthening communication, and working
closely with political parties from different countries to forge, on the basis of a new form of
international relations, a new type of party-to-party relations featuring seeking common grounds
while transcending differences, mutual respect and mutual learning.
The CPC also remains committed to formulating international party-to-party exchanges and
cooperation networks in various forms and at multiple levels, so as to create a mighty force that
enables the world to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Recently, the extraordinary meeting with the theme of jointly building a community with a shared
future for China and Arab states in the new era resonated with myriad countries.
It is of vital importance for Arab states to take joint actions to cope with risks and challenges and
prevail over the difficulties, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also Fatah Chairman,
adding that their joint actions will play an important role in enhancing political mutual trust and
deepening the Arab states-China strategic partnership.
The extraordinary meeting demonstrated that China and Arab states enjoy a solid foundation for
building political consensus, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly building a
community with a shared future.
In the face of the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, China and Arab states have rendered each
other help and fought shoulder to shoulder, opening up a new chapter in building a community
with a shared future for China and Arab states.
At the most critical moment in China’s fight against the epidemic, heads of Arab states and leaders
of regional organizations such as the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) expressed sympathy and support for China. On its part, China has always
cherished the support and assistance offered by Arab states and people as well as their friendship.
Likewise, when Arab states are struck by the virus, the Chinese people feel for their pain. China
has provided a large number of medical supplies to Arab states, and held video conferences over
COVID-19 control with health experts from 17 Arab states, the LAS and the GCC. China has also
sent medical experts to eight Arab states to meet their immediate needs, and shared its proven
protocols of diagnosis, treatment and control without any reservation.
The joint efforts of China and Arab states in the fight against the virus have showcased developing
countries’ strength of unity and cooperation to the rest of the world. Together, the two sides have
made contributions to the global response to COVID-19.
The strong friendship that China and Arab states have forged during their long-term exchanges
lays a solid foundation of public opinion for the two sides to fight the pandemic.
For more than 2,000 years, peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning, and
mutual benefit have always been the main theme of exchanges between China and Arab states.
Whatever changes may take place in the world, China and Arab states have always been good
partners sharing mutual benefit and good brothers going through thick and thin together.
In 2018, China and Arab states, after friendly consultation, agreed to establish a future-oriented
strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development. The anti-pandemic
practices of China and Arab states once again proved that the two sides need to work together to
tackle challenges more than ever.
Chinese and Arab peoples, erstwhile close companions along the ancient Silk Road, are working
together to advance the Belt and Road cooperation to realize their common aspiration of national
prosperity and rejuvenation.
Arab states, as important participants and co-creators of the ancient Silk Road civilization located
at the juncture of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, are
natural partners in Belt and Road cooperation.
At the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2018, the two
sides agreed that they should uphold the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and
shared benefits, expand cooperation areas and serve their common interests under the framework
of the Belt and Road Initiative.
More importantly, China and Arab states need to actively explore channels for practical
cooperation and alignment of development strategies at present to make the Belt and Road a
model of cooperation, health, recovery and growth, and deliver a bright future of development and
prosperity.
The Chinese people often say, “The fire burns high when everyone brings wood to it.” There is
also an Arab saying that people are capable of doing anything when they act together.
In the course of the fight against the pandemic, China and Arab states have made important
contributions to promoting the building of a global community of health for all.
Looking ahead, the two sides will surely create new wonders in fulfilling their dreams of national
prosperity and rejuvenation as long as they continue to work together and build up consensus.
