Beijing hand in hand with Arab world to push Silk Road initiative

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-29

Entrepreneurs attend the opening ceremony of the Sixth Session of the
 Arab-Chinese Businessmen Conference in Beirut, Lebanon, May 26.
(File photo/Xinhua)

The Sixth Session of the Arab-Chinese Businessmen Conference concluded in Beirut on Wednesday, stressing the commitment to the Silk Road initiative and pledging to expand the areas of cooperation.

The statement issued at the conclusion of the activities of the conference and the investment symposium under the title "Building economic belt of the Silk Road," noted that the participants reached a common vision and agreed on the establishment of multiple levels of exchange and cooperation between the companies.

It added that the two sides highly appreciated the continuous growth in the trade between China and Arab countries in 2014, despite the global and regional challenges.

It stressed "the importance of joint efforts in order to promote Sino-Arab trade and economic partnership in order to build economic belt of the new Silk Road."

It pointed out that the initiative "will enhance trade and economic cooperation, and opens up new dimensions and horizons between China and the Arab world."

The statement also called for "the promotion of investments in the projects contained in the belt including the vast network of rail, land, highways, sea routes and lines of oil and gas pipelines, electrical networks, the internet and networks, and other infrastructure projects across the central, western and southern Asia."

The statement stressed "commitment to the path of the new Silk Road which is expected to evolve with the strategic relations between China and the Arab world to new historical levels that would be reflected on everyone's unprecedented increase in growth rates, and create endless possibilities of new jobs."

And it also agreed on the need for the two sides to increase cooperation in the following areas: the logistics of road transport and rail, sea and air, trade, industry, agriculture and food security, banking, tourism, energy and renewable energy, and infrastructure.

The statement stressed "the need to speed up negotiations on establishing a free trade area between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council to sign a free trade agreement as a prelude to the establishment of free trade between Arab countries and China.

The Arab and Chinese sides agreed in the statement that "the Seventh Session of the Conference and the Fifth Session of the Seminar Investment Forum to be held in China in 2017.