China a Long-term, Reliable Strategic Partner of Middle East Countries
中国是中东国家长期可靠的战略伙伴
Ambassador Li Minggang Publishes Signed Article in Kuwaiti Mainstream Media
驻科威特大使李名刚在科媒体发表署名文章
8 April 2021
2021年4月8日
At a time when Chinese New Year has just passed and spring has sprung, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid official visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and a working visit to Oman. Just a month ago, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central CommitteeYang Jiechipaid official visits to Kuwait and Qatar. All these not only demonstrate China’s great importance attached to Middle East countries and its firm resolve to develop the relationship between the two sides, but also further indicate that China is a reliable strategic partner of the Middle East, sending a clear message that the two sides work in concert to build an even closer community with a shared future.
新年刚过，春回大地，中国国务委员兼外长王毅对沙特、土耳其、伊朗、阿联酋、巴林进行正式访问并工作访问阿曼。一个月前，中共中央政治局委员、中央外事工作委员会办公室主任杨洁篪也对科威特和卡塔尔进行了访问。中方的重要外交行动，显示出中国对中东国家的高度重视和发展双方关系的坚定决心，更体现中国是中东可靠的战略伙伴，传递了中国和中东结伴同行、打造更加紧密命运共同体的明确信息。
The first is to firmly support each other’s core interests. China and countries of this region concur that sovereign independence and national dignity of all counties should be respected, and that independent and diverse development models can help offer more options to developing countries in their drive to achieve modernization and promote the harmonious co-existence of different civilizations. We should reject imposing one’s ideology upon others, and oppose wanton interference in internal affairs of other countries and slander against other countries under the guise of human rights. The two sides also agree to safeguard the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law, uphold multilateralism, and defend international equity and justice.
一是坚定支持彼此核心利益。中国和地区国家一致认为，应尊重各国主权独立和民族尊严，以自主多样的发展方式，丰富发展中国家实现现代化的路径选择，促进不同文明的和谐共处；应抵制将意识形态强加于人，反对打着人权旗号干涉别国内政，肆意对别国攻击抹黑；应维护以联合国为核心的国际体系和以国际法为基础的国际秩序，高举多边主义旗帜，捍卫国际公平正义。
The second is to jointly preserve regional security and stability. The world cannot enjoy real peace and tranquility if the Middle East keeps suffering from instability. During his visits, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi unveiled a five-point initiative for achieving security and stability in the Middle East, which calls for advocating mutual respect, upholding equity and justice, achieving non-proliferation, jointly fostering collective security, and accelerating development cooperation. This will infuse positive energies into achieving security and stability in the Middle East. China fully supports active international mediation over the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. When taking the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in this May, China will push for holding full deliberation of this issue, and will host a seminar for Palestinian and Israeli peace activists in due course. Continuing its active participation in the process of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, China has sent officials to Moscow to discuss with Russia and Iran the roadmap and timetable of reviving the nuclear deal. China will also keep close communication with the Gulf countries over holding multilateral forums in China on the Gulf security, starting from topics such as safeguarding oil infrastructure and shipping-lane security, taking into account that easier issues should be tackled first before moving on to more difficult ones in order to accumulate mutual trust. China will hold the China-Arab Reform and Development Forum and the Middle East Security Forum during the year to enhance exchanges of experience in governance and promote dialogues between civilizations.
二是共同维护中东安全稳定。中东不稳，天下难安。王毅国务委员访问中提出关于实现中东安全稳定五点倡议，包括倡导相互尊重、坚持公平正义、实现核不扩散、共建集体安全、加快发展合作等五方面内容 ，为中东地区实现地区安全稳定注入正能量。中方将全力支持国际社会围绕实现巴以“两国方案”积极斡旋，今年5月中国担任安理会轮值主席期间，将推动安理会全面审议巴勒斯坦问题，并适时举办巴以和平人士研讨会；积极参与解决伊朗核问题相关进程，中方官员已赴莫斯科同伊朗、俄罗斯一道，讨论重启伊核全面协议的路线图和时间表；就在华举办海湾地区安全多边论坛同各方保持密切沟通，从保障石油设施和航道安全等议题入手，先易后难、积累互信。中方愿在年内举办中阿改革发展论坛、中东安全论坛，与中东国家加强治国理政经验交流，促进文明对话。
The third is to deepen anti-pandemic cooperation. We will never forget that facing the sudden COVID-19 pandemic, Middle East countries have extended robust support to China, which has sublimated the friendship between both peoples in responding to this global public health crisis. China is keen to work with Middle East countries to push forward the anti-epidemic cooperation. Firstly, China will step up vaccine cooperation and continue to donate and export vaccines to the region to the best of its ability. Secondly, China will promote the establishment of an international mechanism for mutual recognition of health codes to facilitate personnel exchanges under the background of normalization of epidemic prevention and control. Thirdly, China and Middle East countries will continue to build consensus on solidarity against the pandemic, prevent the politicization of pandemic from reemergence, and make the vaccines available and affordable to all countries.
三是继续深化抗疫合作。我们不会忘记，面对突如其来的疫情，中东国家给予中方抗疫有力支持，在共同应对公共卫生危机中升华了双方人民的友谊。中方愿与中东国家一道，推动双方抗疫合作继续走在前列，将加紧推进疫苗合作，在疫苗援助和出口上继续提供力所能及的帮助；推动建立健康码国际互认机制，便利疫情防控常态化背景下人员往来；不断凝聚团结抗疫共识，防止疫情政治化再度抬头，推动疫苗真正成为各国都能用得上、用得起的“人民疫苗”。
The fourth is to enhance synergies of development strategies and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The Middle East has significant resource and location advantages, and China’s new development pattern will bring about more opportunities for cooperation between both sides. China has signed documents on Belt and Road cooperation with 19 Middle East countries. During the visits, Director Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi held in-depth discussions with their counterparts on better alignment of development strategies between China and regional countries. State Councilor Wang Yi reached consensus with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf at their meeting on the early conclusion of free trade talks between China and the GCC, and signed an agreement with his Iranian counterpart on the plan for China-Iran comprehensive cooperation during his visit to Iran. China is ready to work with Middle East countries to consolidate energy cooperation along the entire industrial chain, and expand in-depth cooperation on new and renewable sources of energy. Both sides will also work to deepen cooperation on contracting of major infrastructure projects, innovate investment models, promote trade facilitation, expand the scale of bilateral currency swaps, in addition to increasing high- and new-tech cooperation on 5G, big data and artificial intelligence, in order to shape new areas of growth for cooperation in the post-pandemic era.
四是加强发展战略对接，高质量共建“一带一路”。中东资源、区位优势明显，中国新发展格局为双方合作带来更多新机遇。中国已同19个中东国家签署了共建“一带一路”文件，杨洁篪主任、王毅国务委员访问期间就中国同地区国家对接发展战略进行深入探讨。王毅国务委员会见海合会秘书长纳伊夫时，还就早日完成中海自贸协定谈判达成共识；访问伊朗期间双方签署了全面合作计划。中方愿同中东国家一道，巩固能源上中下游合作，拓展新能源、可再生能源等合作；深化重大基础设施工程承包合作，创新投融资模式，提升贸易便利化水平，扩大本币互换规模；加强5G、大数据、人工智能等高新技术合作，打造后疫情时期合作新增长极。
The fifth is to build the China-Arab community with a shared future. China and Arab states have enjoyed friendly exchanges for centuries. Despite profound changes unseen in a hundred years and a once-in-a-century pandemic, China-Arab relations have forged ahead and demonstrated strong vitality. It has become a fine example of state-to-state relations. In 2020, China cemented its position as the largest trading partner of Arab states, while Arab states became the biggest source of China’s oil import. The two sides agreed to hold the first-ever China-Arab states summit. We will continue to deepen China-Arab relations, take the building of a community with a shared future for China and Arab states as the lead, and work closely to make the aforementioned summit a memorable event in the history of China-Arab relations.
五是打造中阿命运共同体。中国与阿拉伯国家友好交往的历史源远流长。面对百年变局和世纪疫情，中阿关系逆势前行，焕发出生机活力，成为国家间关系的典范。2020年，中国稳居阿拉伯国家第一大贸易伙伴国，阿拉伯国家成为中国第一大原油进口来源地，双方一致同意召开第一次中阿峰会。我们愿不断深化中阿关系发展，以打造志同道合、安宁和谐、发展繁荣的中阿命运共同体为引领，共同努力把中阿峰会办成中阿关系史上的盛事。
Kuwait is an important Gulf state as well as a key partner of China in the region. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Kuwait diplomatic relations. Over the past five decades, China-Kuwait relations have enjoyed sound and steady development, and the two countries have shown mutual understanding and support issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns. Kuwait was the first country in the region to sign a document with China on Belt and Road cooperation, and bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful outcomes in such areas as energy, trade, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges. China has all along approached China-Kuwait ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, and stands ready to work with Kuwait to implement the important consensus reach by the two heads of state, deepen anti-pandemic cooperation, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, push for in-depth development of the China-Kuwait strategic partnership, and promote peace, security, development and prosperity in the Middle East.
科威特是重要海湾国家，也是中国在地区的重要合作伙伴。今年适逢中科建交50周年。50年来，两国关系始终健康稳定发展，在涉及彼此核心利益和重大关切问题上相互理解、相互支持。科威特在地区国家中最早同中国签署“一带一路”合作文件，两国在能源、贸易、基础设施、人文等领域合作成果丰硕。中方始终从战略高度和长远角度看待和发展中科关系，愿同科方一道努力，落实好两国元首达成的重要共识，不断巩固战略互信，深化抗疫合作，推进高质量共建“一带一路”，推动两国战略伙伴关系深入发展，共筑中东和平安全、共促中东发展繁荣。