Chinese, UAE FMs discuss ties over phone

The foreign ministers of China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held phone talks on bilateral relations Monday.

During the talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country attaches great importance to the development of its strategic partnership with the UAE.

China is willing to take the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties to deepen friendly cooperation between the two countries in various fields, he added.

Wang said China is also ready to make concerted efforts with the UAE to boost cooperation and speed up free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

For his part, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said UAE-China cooperation has grown rapidly and yielded fruitful results in various areas since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago.

The UAE is willing to continue to deepen cooperation with China and push forward the relations of GCC members and other Arab nations with China, he added.

He also voiced his country's support for accelerating the FTA talks between the GCC and China.

The two ministers also exchanged views on Syria, Egypt and other regional issues of common interest.

The UAE appreciates China's important role in pushing for a political solution to the Syrian issue, Sheikh Abdullah said.

The GCC, a regional political and economic bloc set up in 1981, consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. China started FTA negotiations with the bloc in July 2004.