Xi's speech at key forum widely hailed

Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum is "forward-looking", reinforcing China as a "pivotal partner" for the Arab world, analysts said.

They praised the forum as "exceptionally important" and for "setting a new standard for international partnerships" as it underscored challenges confronting the world, like the need for a two-state solution to the Middle East issue while also giving importance to new areas of cooperation in artificial intelligence, health and research work.

Gamal Dobahi, a journalist based in Southeast Asia, said ties between China and the Arab world have reached an unprecedented level due to collaboration under the umbrella of the forum.

At the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum on Thursday, Xi recalled his visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh in December 2022 for the first China-Arab States Summit, where he unanimously agreed with his Arab counterparts to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era.

As changes unseen in a century unfold rapidly across the world, Xi said both China and Arab states "strive to accomplish their historical missions of national rejuvenation and faster national development". He also said building a China-Arab community with a shared future "is a strong statement of our common desire for a new era of China-Arab relations".

Arnaud Bertrand, a French entrepreneur who has lived in China for many years, said Xi's call for a "five cooperation frameworks" between China and the Arab world in order "to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future" is the most noteworthy point from the speech.

Ebrahim Hashem, fellow at the University of Hong Kong's Asia Global Institute, said the forum shows that both the Chinese and Arabs are aligned on the strategic objective of having a more equitable, just and balanced multipolar world.

S. L. Kanthan, a geopolitical analyst based in Bengaluru, India, wrote on X: "China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Beijing today. Have you ever seen anything like this in the US? Xi had a vision of such multilateralism from the very beginning. Harmony, partnership, trade, connectivity, development, peace … what is hard to understand?"

Abdul Wahed Jalal Nori, author of the book State-building under Foreign Occupation: The Case of Iraq 2003-2008, said Xi's address was "a masterful blend of historical context and forward-looking strategy" and that it reinforced China's role as "a pivotal partner for the Arab world".

Keith Bennett, a senior international relations analyst in London, said the forum must be considered the "most comprehensive and successful to date" since it was initiated 20 years ago.

Great expectations

"The presence of four Arab heads of state, who combined attendance at a ministerial level meeting with a state visit, along with the opening speech by President Xi, testify to the high importance attached to the gathering, as well as the great expectations of both sides," Bennett said.

In his speech, Xi promised to work closely with the Arab states to "make relations a model for maintaining world peace and stability".

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, told China Daily that the forum offered proof as to how much the relationship between China and the Arab region is "evolving rapidly toward more cooperation".

Meanwhile, "instability in the region is because of negative US policy toward Gaza", she said.

Xi, in his speech, noted that new progress has been made in the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation with Arab countries, such as scientific research and development and technology transfer.

"Xi positions China as a leading advocate for a fair, multipolar world order, setting a new standard for international partnerships," Abdul Wahed said.

Jasim Husain, a former member of Bahrain's parliament, hailed Xi's opening remarks as "exceptionally important", as the president highlighted the challenges facing the world, "including the trouble in Gaza".

"China and Bahrain want to see peace in Gaza," he said. "We hope that can be established."