Cairo, August 28 (Xinhua) — Innovation, progress, cooperation, and win-win outcomes: China Arab economic and trade cooperation supports the process of economic globalization
The 7th China Arab States Expo (CAE) with the theme of “Innovation, Green, and Prosperity” will be held in Yinchuan, Ningxia from August 28th to 31st. Focusing on promoting trade and investment cooperation between China and Arab countries, the China Arab States Expo has become an important platform for both sides to strengthen common development.
International observers point out that against the backdrop of the current global economic downturn and intensified protectionism, China Arab economic and trade cooperation has shown resilience and vitality in steady progress, innovation and progress, and mutual benefit, becoming an important force in promoting the process of economic globalization and world economic growth.
Steadily advancing and consolidating the foundation of cooperation
The report “Review and Prospect of China Arab Energy Cooperation” shows that energy trade between China and Arab countries continues to grow, and in 2022, energy trade will account for “half of the total bilateral trade volume”. Qatar is the second largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to China. In 2023, Qatar Energy Company signed long-term liquefied natural gas purchase and sale agreements and equity participation agreements with PetroChina and Sinopec for a period of 27 years. Saad Kabi, President and CEO of Qatar Energy Company, said that China is a key market for Qatar’s energy products.
China’s technology and capabilities in liquefied natural gas ship construction and energy infrastructure construction have been recognized by regional countries, and Chinese enterprises have continuously won bids for related projects. Qatar Energy Company has signed a long-term transportation lease agreement with Chinese enterprises for large transport ships. This deep cooperation not only ensures supply, but also enhances technological exchange and industrial synergy.
China Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (TEDA Cooperation Zone) was founded in 2008. In recent years, it has continuously attracted enterprises to settle down and projects have been launched, gradually becoming a demonstration project for the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” initiative and the construction of Egypt’s “Suez Canal Corridor Economic Belt”. Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sheraf highly praised the Teda Cooperation Zone, believing that such economic and trade cooperation zones are “key to industry, trade, and global connectivity”. The expansion work of the cooperation zone is steadily advancing, and relevant partners recently signed an agreement. The total area of the cooperation zone will exceed 10 square kilometers, further promoting the development of Egyptian industry.
Walid Jabala, a member of the Egyptian Association of Political Economy, Statistics and Legislation, believes that the joint construction of several “the Belt and Road” projects with China, including the TEDA Cooperation Zone, has effectively boosted the Egyptian economy.
Innovate and forge ahead, open up new opportunities for cooperation
On the basis of cooperation in energy and other fields, China and Arab countries are accelerating the expansion of cooperation in emerging areas such as wind and solar power, green and low-carbon, and digital economy, aligning with national development strategies, and promoting the transformation of cooperation towards technology driven development.
The Tandra 200 MW photovoltaic power station project in the province of Maqiyier, undertaken by Chinese enterprises, is one of the key projects for Algeria to achieve its 2030 renewable energy installed capacity strategic goal. The project started construction in March last year, helping to increase the proportion of clean energy and promote green development in Algeria, while also creating about 500 job opportunities for the local area.
For Saudi Arabia, a major oil exporting country in the Gulf, strengthening cooperation with China is an important support for achieving its “2030 Vision”, especially in developing non oil industries and building industrial value chains. Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al Falih stated that the two countries are expanding beyond traditional energy cooperation and opening up new areas of cooperation in renewable energy, technology, logistics, and advanced manufacturing, ushering in a new chapter in Saudi China economic relations.
The digital economy has become a new track for economic and trade cooperation between China and Arab countries, and both sides are promoting infrastructure cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital industries. In Egypt, Central African Teda Investment Co., Ltd. is implementing the “One Network, One Cloud, One Platform” initiative, which will provide cloud computing services and communication infrastructure support to 185 resident enterprises, empowering the development of the park with digital technology. In the view of Ahmed Dawish, former Minister of Administrative Development and former Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt, China’s Beidou system and IoT technology solutions are empowering Egypt’s computing infrastructure construction, and the local digital economy development is benefiting greatly.
Deepen cooperation and promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes
Since its first session in 2013, the China Arab Expo has been held every two years, which has become an important platform for both sides to deepen practical cooperation and promote the high-quality development of the “the Belt and Road”. Relying on this mechanism, cooperation between China and Arab countries in various fields continues to deepen and become more practical, and exchanges and cooperation at all levels are becoming increasingly active, promoting the sharing of development opportunities among countries and enterprises in the region.
As a major producer and exporter of date palm in the world, Tunisia is renowned for producing the “Light of Tigris” date palm. Tunisian date processor Ahmed Boudjebel told reporters that he is very eager to promote the expansion of this Tunisian star product into the Chinese market.
In fact, China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner of Arab countries for many years, and many products such as Saudi white shrimp, Tunisian olive oil, Sudanese sesame, Egyptian fresh oranges, etc. are increasingly favored by Chinese consumers.
Nowadays, on the war-torn banks of the Tigris River, Chinese companies are actively participating in the construction of local infrastructure in the fields of energy, electricity, transportation, and public services. The joint construction of “smart oil fields” by China and Iraq has received widespread attention from various sectors in Iraq. Mohammad Yasin, General Manager of Central Iraq Oil Company, stated that the application of China’s digital technology and innovative management models is of great significance in improving the efficiency of Iraq’s oil and gas development and promoting the optimization and upgrading of the energy industry.
In various fields such as energy, green transformation, and digital economy, China Arab economic and trade cooperation has formed a development pattern that combines depth and breadth. Against the backdrop of intensifying anti globalization trends, China Arab economic and trade cooperation is forging a path of sustainable development, becoming a model of mutually beneficial and common development cooperation among countries around the world.