East meets Middle East as China seeks stronger ties
- By Li Shen
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China.org.cn, January 13, 2012
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will pay official visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar from Jan. 14 to 19. During his visit to the UAE, Premier Wen will attend the Fifth World Future Energy Summit at the invitation of Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,.
Liu Baolai, director of the Institute of Middle East Studies of China Foundation for International Studies and former Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan, spoke to China.org about Premier Wen's impending visit to the Middle East.
Commenting on the timing of the visit, Liu emphasized that China has enjoyed a long-lasting friendship with Arab nations, and that cooperation has grown rapidly in recent years. One example is China's establishment of a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia in 2008. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China and the UAE will sign a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership during Premier Wen's visit. In addition, the Chinese government will sign a series of cooperation agreements with the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. The agreements will cover the economy, trade, education, infrastructure, finance and culture.
According to Liu, Wen's upcoming visit is significant for two main reasons: It will deepen comprehensive cooperation between China and the three Arab countries on matters such as economics and trade and investment and energy; it will also realize the "mutual benefits goals" set by China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Last year, trade volume between China and GCC was close to US$100 billion. Bilateral trade now focuses on fields such as energy, labor services, science and technology, and agriculture. China has significantly increased its export of labor services to GCC countries over the past decade and a half. Illustrating the point, Liu commented that Chinese construction teams now play an important role in countries such as the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, He said: "I was China's Ambassador to the UAE from 1991 to 1995. During that time, there were about 20,000 Chinese workers in the UAE and only 200 Chinese companies. Now the figures are about 200,000 and 3,000 respectively."
Liu added that, unlike other Middle Eastern countries, GCC member states have maintained political stability through a series of domestic reforms. Liu also voiced his confidence that China could expect great things from its cooperation with GCC member countries as a result of their abundant financial resources and large market scale.
He also stated that Premier Wen's forthcoming attendance at the Fifth World Future Energy Summit has nothing to do with the impending possibility of tighter American-led sanctions against Iran. "The U.S. has pushed hard for tougher sanctions against Iran," said Liu. "But this is a matter of deep concern for many countries. For example, Japan and India also import crude oil from Iran. The issue of tighter sanctions is still being discussed and no formal agreement has yet been reached. As a result, we cannot be certain yet that the sanctions will be imposed."
Liu concluded by predicting that the political turmoil seen in Arab countries during the course of the last year will continue, making the future difficult to predict. However, he emphasized that China respects the choices made by the Arabic people, and that it seeks mutually beneficial cooperation and friendship with Arab countries in West Asia and North Africa on the basis of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
Staff reporter Li Tao contributed to this story.
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