China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) agreed to further exchanges and begin talks on forging a free trade area, according to a press communiqué issued by China and GCC in Beijing Wednesday.

A GCC delegation of the finance ministers of the six member nations and the organization's secretary-general visited China between July 4 and 7 at the invitation of the Chinese government. During their stay in China, delegation members exchanged views with Chinese senior officials on expanding cooperation fields and promoting bilateral ties.

During the visit, the two sides signed a framework agreement on cooperation in economy, trade, investment and technology, in which the two sides consented on establishing a joint committee to oversee the implementation of the agreement and other pacts or protocols signed on the basis of the agreement, according to the communiqué.

To encourage and facilitate trade of commodities and services, the two sides agreed to launch talks on the establishment of a China-GCC free trade area, and the first round of talks will be held in China as early as possible.

According to the communiqué, both sides expressed satisfaction over the results of the visit and agreed to continue such exchange in the future.

Founded in 1981, the GCC involves Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to China's statistics, trade between China and GCC surged from US$1.5 billion in 1991 to US$16.9 billion last year, and GCC has become China's eighth largest trade partner, eighth largest export destination and ninth largest import source worldwide.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2004)