Heads and senior officials from Arab states showed their optimism in the prospects of cooperation between China and Arab states with the consensus that China will become their most important and safest trade partner while attending the on-going China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum (CASETF) in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Sept. 22.

Shk. Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Economic Development Board, said the world economy is undergoing major changes and its center is transferring to the East.

China and Arab states share many common interests and their connection turns gradually from trade to investment since Arab states take China as a safe investment destination, he said.

In the project signing ceremony of CASETF this year, Qatari prince Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani and the local government of Yinchuan's Xingqing District signed a contract of US$250 million to build a Sino-Arab Trade Logistic Port in the district.

The prince said China has a safe and favorable investment environment. He encouraged Qatari investors to find their opportunities in China.

In 2004, China and Arab states co-founded the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, marking an important milestone in the development of Sin-Arab ties. In 2010, the two sides developed a strategic partnership relation in a bid to work together in all fields and realize mutual development.

Statistics showed that the bilateral trade volume between the two had increased to US$145.4 billion in 2010 from US$36.4 billion in 2004. In the first half of this year, the trade volume hit a new high to US$120 billion, up 36 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the investment between the two sides is expanding every year. By the end of 2010, the total amount of Chinese investment in Arab states had exceeded US$15 billion and investment from Arab states in China reached US$2.6 billion cumulatively. Arab states have become one of the fastest growing markets for Chinese companies.

The world economy is recovering gradually, but the deep impact of the global financial crisis keeps continuing. China's vice commerce minister Jiang Zengwei said China and Arab states as developing economies have to shoulder tougher tasks in boosting their economy and improve people's well being due to the great uncertainty in the prospects of the world economy.

Jiang said the two sides will be more dependent on each other because of their complementary advantages in energy, funds, technology, human resources and industrial structure.

He said the two sides can and should deepen South-South cooperation further to make their contributions to robust, sustainable and balanced development of the world economy.

The on-going CASETF held in Ningxia is reported as a microcosm to the good momentum on Sino-Arab ties. Ningxia is the only provincial region in China home to the majority of e Hui people in the belief of Islam, nearly 36 percent of the region's total population. The central government has mulled over building the region into a hub for trade cooperation between the two sides.

Arabic signs and notices spread bus stop boards and exhibition halls in Yinchuan. Muslim commodities and halal food prevail at the street of the city. Prayers' rooms are also available for the participants to conduct their religious practices.

For the Qatari prince Sheikh, the hospitality and many other traditional virtues of Chinese people are incomparable in the world. He said investors can be well treated with full respect in China and their investing projects often receive considerable attention, which encourages them to invest in China more actively.

In the summit of CASETF, Abdullah Al Saleh, undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, said UAE and other Arab states will enhance trade ties with China through investment in multiple fields, including tourism, halal food, Muslim commodities, financial investment, real estate and construction.

Director of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies Sun Zhenyu, the first Chinese ambassador to WTO, said the long-term friendship between China and Arab states and their continuous cooperation experience in international affairs will help the two make joint effort in maintaining the interest of developing countries