Fahad Almeniaee

The roots of friendly exchanges and civilized contacts between China and Arab countries go back to the depths of history. For a long time, cooperation and exchange between China and Arab countries have been characterized by the Silk Road spirit of peaceful cooperation, openness, tolerance, mutual benefit and win-win. Since the entry of socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee of the Party, with President Xi Jinping at its heart, has paid high attention to foreign cooperation and human exchanges between China and other countries. Cooperation and civilizational communication between China and Arab countries have also entered into a new stage of rapid, high-level and comprehensive development. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China reads: “The Communist Party of China is dedicated to pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. It is also dedicated to human progress and world harmony. We should expand our global vision and develop keen insight into the trends of human development and progress, respond to the general concerns of people of all countries, and play our part in resolving the common issues facing humankind. With an open mind, we should draw inspiration from all of human civilization’s outstanding achievements and work to build an even better world.”

In the new era under the new conditions, China and the Arab countries, as natural partners in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and the bond of common destiny for mankind, uphold the historical traditions of friendly exchanges, keep pace with the tide of the times in peaceful development, and work together to advance and develop bilateral and multilateral relations. Both parties should enhance mutual political trust, expand areas of cooperation, improve cooperation mechanisms and enrich the concept of cooperation. In 2018, the two sides announced the establishment of the “Chinese-Arab strategic partnership based on comprehensive cooperation and common development and oriented towards the future,” and made great progress and remarkable achievements in cooperation in various fields. Civilizational exchanges between China and Arab countries witnessed rapid development, as exchange mechanisms improved, the areas of exchange expanded, the contents of the exchange diversified, and notable achievements were made. The first Chinese-Arab summit, which was held in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 9th, 2022, is a major event that will be a landmark in the history of Chinese-Arab relations, which in turn will push comprehensive cooperation and civilizational exchange between China and the Arab countries to a new stage of development.

AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM FOR THE EXCHANGE OF CHINESE AND ARAB CIVILIZATIONS IN THE NEW ERA

Civilizational contacts and human exchanges in the new era between China and Arab countries are developing rapidly. The China-Arab Cooperation Forum not only plays a leading role in advancing the strategic relations between China and the Arab countries for common development and comprehensive cooperation, but also established a broad platform and opened wide areas for civilized communication and human exchanges between China and the Arab countries. The forum’s human exchange mechanism has actively promoted the rapid development of Chinese-Arab civilizational exchanges. The wonderful exchange activities have achieved remarkable and fruitful results. Four sessions were held for the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum on Chinese and Arab cultures, and nine seminars on Chinese-Arab relations and dialogue between the Chinese and Arab civilizations within the framework of the forum. Various activities for human exchange were also held, including the Chinese-Arab Art Festival, the China-Arab Forum for Media Cooperation, the China-Arab Forum for Radio and Television Cooperation, and others. In addition, more than forty fraternization and twinning agreements have been concluded for Chinese and Arab cities. The Chinese-Arab Center for News Exchange and the Chinese-Arabic Electronic Library website were launched; Nearly one hundred Chinese and Arabic classics and modern and contemporary literary works have been translated and published under the Chinese-Arabic Translation of Classical Works project; And the Chinese-Arab Studies Center for Reform and Development, which President Xi Jinping proposed establishing, as an important think tank within the framework of the forum, has successfully held ten training courses for Arab officials, and has also held many joint seminars with think tanks and research institutions for the Arab side, to exchange and discuss ways of cooperation. and reform and development between China and Arab countries. I have had the honor to participate in these exchanges and dialogue activities many times.

China-Arab Friendship and Cooperation Exchange Exhibition held in Riyadh.

Chinese-Arab human exchanges have witnessed a great prosperity and development in multilateral and bilateral exchanges and exchanges at the official and popular level, in addition to multilateral cultural exchanges within the framework of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. China has signed new annual implementation plans regarding bilateral cultural cooperation agreements with more than ten Arab countries, and encouraged mutual visits between cultural delegations at the ministerial level from China and Arab countries, and organized mutual visits for hundreds of artistic performance teams, and encouraged more than a hundred Arab cultural institutions to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts. Particularly noteworthy and commendable is that the civilizational exchanges between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries witnessed rapid development in the new era under the leadership of the leaders of China and the Arab countries and gradually became the forefront of the civilizational exchanges between China and the Arab countries, and the rapid development of cultural exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia. Prime examples of these civilizational exchanges are that: in 2013, China was the guest of honor at the “National Festival for Heritage and Culture-Janadriyah” in Saudi Arabia; From December 2016 to March 2017, the exhibition “The Way of the Arabs — Masterpieces of Antiquities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Through the Ages” was held in China. President Xi Jinping visited the exhibition with King Salman bin Abdulaziz; And on March 2017, the King Abdulaziz Library branch opened at Peking University, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz attended the opening ceremony and Peking University awarded him an honorary doctorate. From September to November 2018, China held the “China Treasures Exhibition” in Saudi Arabia, which was well received by the Saudi public. In recent years, with the rapid development of exchange and cooperation in the field of education between China and Saudi Arabia, and the continuous increase in the number of students from both sides, and with the direct push of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia decided to include teaching Chinese in the curricula of high schools and universities across the country. This grand action left a deep impression on the world.

Employees of the Sino-Saudi Yanbu refinery communicate in the western Saudi city of Yanbu.

JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF THE “BELT AND ROAD” IS A DRIVING FORCE FOR CHINESE-ARAB CIVILIZATIONAL EXCHANGES IN THE NEW ERA

In June 2014, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the opening of the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, in which President Xi deeply expounded the Silk Road spirit of “peaceful cooperation, openness, tolerance, mutual benefit and win-win”, and put forward the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative between China and the Arab countries. In January 2016, President Xi Jinping once again pointed out clearly in his speech at the headquarters of the League of Arab States that China and the Arab countries are implementing the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative, adhering to the business concept of “peace, innovation, leadership, governance and integration”, and supporting the formation of more forums in the process of the renaissance of the Chinese and Arab nations. The joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative between China and Arab countries has been widely welcomed and responded to positively. Many Arab countries are actively planning to align their development strategies with the “Belt and Road”, and the initiative has become a hot topic in academic circles, the media, and Arab think tanks. Arabs in political, commercial, and academic circles are increasingly interested in Chinese culture, Chinese language, management, and governance experiences with Chinese characteristics, and express their deep admiration and praise for China’s great achievements and Chinese-style modernization under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

And recently, in the Riyadh Declaration issued by the first Chinese-Arab summit, China and the Arab countries agreed to jointly implement the “Belt and Road” Initiative, provide wide opportunities for cooperation and development between the two sides, and strive to enhance the alignment of the “Belt and Road” Initiative with the development vision of various Arab countries to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

He pointed out that at this summit, China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, practiced true multilateralism, and respected the principles of sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of each other. The Saudi side considers that the realization of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 requires the assistance of Chinese technology. In new areas such as space, the digital economy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Saudi Arabia also seeks to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with China.