7月8月早间英文播报：Forum focuses on China-Arab strategic ties

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The 9th ministerial meeting of theChina-Arab States Cooperation Forum is held via video link on July 6, 2020.[Photo/Xinhua]

Presidentsays mutual support reflects close bonds, cooperation between them

China and Arab countries should enhancestrategic communications and promote cooperation in all areas, including thefight against the COVID-19 pandemic, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatoryletter to the ninth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States CooperationForum, held by videoconference.

Xi said that since the pandemic's outbreak,China and Arab countries have stuck together and helped each other. Theirmutual support and strengthened cooperation are a vivid reflection of the closebonds between them, he said.

The two sides require more cooperation toovercome difficulties and move forward, given the situation, he added.

Xi said he hoped the two sides will meet inorder to enhance strategic coordination and promote cooperation in variousfields to bring more benefits for their people.

He noted that he announced theestablishment of the strategic partnershipbetween China and Arab states at the eighth ministerial meeting of theChina-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2018.

Xi said his proposal to build a China-Arabcommunity with a shared future to promote the building of a community with ashared future for mankind was enthusiastically greeted by Arab countries.

In the past two years, China and Arabcountries have enhanced coordination and the China-Arab strategic partnership,featuring comprehensive cooperation, joint development and future orientation,has been deepened, Xi said.

The ninth ministerial meeting of theChina-Arab States Cooperation Forum was co-chaired by State Councilor andForeign Minister Wang Yi and Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs andExpatriates Ayman Safadi. Foreign ministers of members of the League of ArabStates and league Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attended the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Wang said that thetraditional friendship between China and Arab countries will definitely beelevated and China-Arab strategic cooperation will be brought to a new levelafter the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has assisted Arab countries inprocuring anti-virus materials in China and donated more than 1 million testkits and over 13 million masks, Wang said. It has also held videoconferences ofhealth experts with 21 Arab countries and dispatched medical teams to eightArab countries, he said.

On Sunday, a shipment of anti-COVID medicalaid from the Chinese government, including 200,000 disposable masks and 9,000 N95masks, was delivered to the Arab League at the organization's headquarters inCairo.

Wang said the two sides have acceleratedjoint construction of the Belt and Road with many key projects beingsuccessfully implemented. Trade volume between the two sides in 2019 saw ayear-on-year increase of 9 percent, with expansion of bilateral investment andhigh-tech cooperation, he said.

Wang thanked Arab nations for their firmsupport of China's rightful proposals at the United Nations Human RightsCouncil, saying that China believes Arab countries will continue to take a justposition on issues concerning China's internal affairs. China firmly supportsArab countries to safeguard their own political security and social stabilityand choose their own paths of development, he said.

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记者：安百杰、莫竞西

播报：OwenFishwick

原文链接：

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202007/07/WS5f02fc92a310834817257883.html