China, Arab states join hands to combat COVID-19
By He
Yin
Both
China and the Arab states believe that true friendship stands out in times of
adversity, which testifies to their shared future in the joint fight against
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Having
gone through this joint fight against the coronavirus, the China-Arab strategic
partnership now enjoys an even stronger foundation, closer people-to-people
friendship and brighter prospects for cooperation,” Chinese President Xi
Jinping said on June 22 in a congratulatory letter to the China-Arab States
Political Parties Dialogue Extraordinary Meeting.
The
message from Xi, who is also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee, fully demonstrated the firm resolve and sincere wish
of China and Arab states to pool their efforts together to fight the pandemic,
enhance exchanges and cooperation, and promote the building of a community with
a shared future for China and Arab states.
The CPC is
committed to enhancing mutual trust, strengthening communication, and working
closely with political parties from different countries to forge, on the basis
of a new form of international relations, a new type of party-to-party
relations featuring seeking common grounds while transcending differences, mutual
respect and mutual learning.
The CPC also
remains committed to formulating international party-to-party
exchanges and cooperation networks in various forms and at multiple levels, so
as to create a mighty force that enables the world to build a community with a
shared future for mankind.
Recently,
the extraordinary meeting with the theme of jointly building a community with a
shared future for China and Arab states in the new era resonated with myriad
countries.
It is of
vital importance for Arab states to take joint actions to cope with risks and
challenges and prevail over the difficulties, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also Fatah Chairman, adding
that their joint actions will play an important role in enhancing political
mutual trust and deepening the Arab states-China strategic partnership.
The extraordinary
meeting demonstrated that China and Arab states enjoy a solid foundation for building
political consensus, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly
building a community with a shared future.
In the
face of the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, China and Arab states have rendered
each other help and fought shoulder to shoulder, opening up a new chapter in
building a community with a shared future for China and Arab states.
At the
most critical moment in China’s fight against the epidemic, heads of Arab
states and leaders of regional organizations such as the
League of Arab States (LAS) and
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed sympathy and support for China. On
its part, China has always cherished the support and assistance offered by Arab
states and people as well as their friendship.
Likewise,
when Arab states are struck by the virus, the Chinese people feel for their
pain. China has provided a large number of medical supplies to Arab states, and
held video conferences over COVID-19 control with health experts from 17 Arab
states, the LAS and the GCC. China has also sent medical experts to eight Arab
states to meet their immediate needs, and shared its proven protocols of
diagnosis, treatment and control without any reservation.
The joint
efforts of China and Arab states in the fight against the virus have showcased developing
countries’ strength of unity and cooperation to the rest of the world. Together,
the two sides have made contributions to the global response to COVID-19.
The
strong friendship that China and Arab states have forged during their long-term
exchanges lays a solid foundation of public opinion for the two sides to fight
the pandemic.
For more
than 2,000 years, peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning,
and mutual benefit have always been the main theme of exchanges between China
and Arab states. Whatever changes may take place in the world, China and Arab states have always been good
partners sharing mutual benefit and good brothers going through thick and thin
together.
In 2018,
China and Arab states, after friendly consultation, agreed to establish a
future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common
development. The anti-pandemic practices of China and Arab states once again
proved that the two sides need to work together to tackle challenges more than
ever.
Chinese
and Arab peoples, erstwhile close companions along the ancient Silk Road, are
working together to advance the Belt and Road cooperation to realize their
common aspiration of national prosperity and rejuvenation.
Arab
states, as important participants and co-creators of the ancient Silk Road
civilization located at the juncture of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the
21st-century Maritime Silk Road, are natural partners in Belt and Road
cooperation.
At the
eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2018, the
two sides agreed that they should uphold the principle of wide consultation, joint
contribution and shared benefits, expand cooperation areas and serve their
common interests under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
More
importantly, China and Arab states need to actively explore channels for
practical cooperation and alignment of development strategies at present to make the Belt and Road a model of
cooperation, health, recovery and growth, and deliver a bright future of
development and prosperity.
The Chinese
people often say, “The fire burns high when everyone brings wood to it.” There
is also an Arab saying that people are capable of doing anything when they act
together.
In the
course of the fight against the pandemic, China and Arab states have made
important contributions to promoting the building of a global community of
health for all.
Looking
ahead, the two sides will surely create new wonders in fulfilling their dreams
of national prosperity and rejuvenation as long as they continue to work
together and build up consensus.
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