This year marks the 50th anniversary of the start of Sino-Arab diplomatic ties. China established diplomatic relations with Egypt, Syria and Yemen on May 30, August 1 and September 24, 1956, respectively. As Egypt became the first Arab and African nation to recognize the People’s Republic of China, Sino-Arab relations moved into a new era. By the 1990s, all 22 members of the League of Arab States (LAS) had established diplomatic relations with China.

Over the past half century, in spite of the volatile international situation, changes in the political regimes of Arab countries and adjustments to China’s foreign policy, relations between China and the Arab world have made constant headway, with bilateral bonds cemented due to their deep friendship and shared mission. Enjoying sound diplomatic relations, China and the 22 Arab nations have seen bilateral and multilateral cooperation among them making great strides.

Notable achievements

Sharing similar views on many international and regional issues, China and the Arab nations support and coordinate with each other on various fronts.

In the political field, Arab countries render strong support to China on the human rights and Taiwan issues. China, for its part, consistently stands for the just cause of the Arab people. It demands that Israel end its occupation of Arab lands under relevant UN resolutions and ensure the lawful rights of the Palestinian people. It supports the Middle East peace process and the “road map” for that process, and has made unremitting efforts in this respect.

In recent years, Sino-Arab political exchanges have gained momentum with frequent high-level visits. Arab leaders such as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Jordanian King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein have visited China. During his visit to the LAS headquarters in January 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with LAS Secretary General Amr Mahmoud Moussa, proposing a series of guidelines for developing Sino-Arab relations in the new century.

After the meeting, the two leaders proclaimed the founding of the China-Arab Nations Cooperation Forum, a landmark event in the development of bilateral relations. During his visit to Egypt in June, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Nazef signed an implementation outline for deepening strategic and cooperative relations between the two countries, reaffirming their commitment to enrich and deepen bilateral strategic cooperation.

Economic and trade cooperation also grew rapidly. The trade volume between China and the Arab world reached $51.27 billion in 2005, a 39.67 percent rise from the previous year. Among the Arab countries, the China-Saudi Arabia trade volume reached $16.07 billion last year, up 56 percent year on year, and the trade volume between China and the United Arab Emirates hit $10.77 billion, up 32.3 percent.