Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi conducted official visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, along with a working visit to Oman from March 24 to 30.
Saudi Arabia
On March 24, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with Wang Yi in Neom. Wang Yi said that both sides “can give full play to the role of the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee, which should take the lead in deepening bilateral cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment and infrastructure, as well as in the emerging fields of high and new technology industry including renewable energy, 5G, artificial intelligence, big data and aerospace technologies.” He also said that both allies must “step up cooperation and exchanges in countering terrorism and eliminating extremism”. Wang further expressed Chinese willingness to work with Saudi Arabia to speed up the free trade deal negotiations between China and the Gulf countries.
On the same day, Wang Yi held a meeting with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh. Wang said that China is ready to deepen cooperation between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. He also stressed that Beijing would “make good use of” the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee “to promote cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment, and major projects, as well as in the emerging fields”.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Also on March 24, Wang met with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf in Riyadh. Wang expressed China’s hope to take the 40th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations “as an opportunity to explore ways to elevate the level of bilateral relations, strengthen mutual support from a long-term and strategic perspective, firmly safeguard each other’s national sovereignty and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas.”
Nayef assured the minister that China topped the GCC’s list of resuming free trade negotiations. He also said that Saudi hoped that the GCC-China talks will end with an agreement soon so as to “enhance cooperation in the digital economy and high-tech areas and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.”
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Wang Yi in Ankara on March 25. Erdogan noted the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Turkey and China and said that Ankara was looking forward to developing relations with Beijing in a variety of sectors, including trade, connectivity, infrastructure, and investment. In addition, Erdogan acknowledged vaccine cooperation between the two nations, saying, “I myself have been publicly vaccinated with China’s COVID-19 vaccine, aiming to show the safety and effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines to Turkish citizens as well as the whole world.”
On the same day, Wang Yi also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Wang noted that China-Turkey cooperation is “all-dimensional” and said that both countries “should make good use of all kinds of cooperative mechanisms and strengthen policy communication and coordination to increase exports of Turkey’s quality products to China, currency swaps, major projects, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to achieve better results in the win-win cooperation.”
Turkey, for its part, expressed hope that China will “take an active part in the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan”. The Turkish side also welcomed the fact that China is hosting the next Winter Olympics and assured it that it would encourage Turkish athletes to actively take part in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Iran
On March 27, Wang Yi met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Advisor, Ali Larijani, in Tehran. Wang noted the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and said that China was “willing to work with Iran to reach into new areas of cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, as well as world peace and development.” The minister further said that China would continue to help Iran fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the same day, Wang also had a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. On the nuclear issue, Zarif said that the United States (US) should take the first step instead of “making unreasonable demands on Iran.. lift unilateral sanctions against Iran, and return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).” Iran is willing to work closely with China, a reliable partner on this matter, and jointly push the JCPOA back on track. Wang agreed, saying that “the Iranian nuclear issue is caused by the unilateral withdrawal from the deal by the United States, the United States should... cancel its measures of long-arm jurisdiction over third parties, and resume the implementation of the JCPOA comprehensively and unconditionally.”
At the end of the meeting, both diplomats signed the China-Iran comprehensive cooperation plan that will help “tap the potential for cooperation” in fields such as economy and culture. Wang also said that the plan “will further promote the continuous upgrading of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership”.
During his visit, Wang also met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The two exchanged greetings and expressed hope that the signing of the comprehensive cooperation plan will further clarify the roadmap for future cooperation between the two allies.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
On March 28, Wang Yi met with the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, wherein the ministers exchanged views on numerous regional and international issues of mutual concern. The leaders then took part in a virtual ceremony to launch a joint bottling production line of the Chinese vaccine. Wang Yi stressed that the first phase-3 trial of the COVID-19 vaccine, which was conducted by a Chinese pharmaceutical company in the UAE, had “set a record for multi-nationality and large-scale clinical trials, and made important contribution to promoting international anti-coronavirus cooperation,” and said that China was willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation further in the fields of “energy, high and new technologies, finance and investment, and jointly promote international mutual recognition of health codes.” The leaders also agreed to work closely in counter-terrorism and de-radicalization initiatives.
In addition, Wang also met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He told the leader that China was “ready to make joint efforts with the UAE to promote a program that aims to provide Chinese language lessons in 100 schools, and to support each other in hosting the World Expo in Dubai and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.”
Bahrain
On March 29, Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister (PM) Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa met with Wang Yi in Manama. Wang expressed China’s appreciation for the Prince’s personal participation in China’s vaccine clinical trials and said that was willing to advance vaccine cooperation and provide support and assistance to aid Bahrain’s fight against the pandemic. Wang also said that Beijing hoped to further the BRI and Bahrain’s “Economic Vision 2030”, and expand cooperation in fields such as infrastructure construction, big data, and e-commerce. In response, the PM affirmed that Bahrain was ready to “deepen cooperation in various fields such as energy, infrastructure construction, and high technology.”
On the same day, Wang Yi also held talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and said that China looked forward to strengthening ties in “energy, infrastructure, 5G mobile communication, e-commerce, and big data, and expand cooperation areas and space” under the framework of the China-Arab Data Security Cooperation Initiative, which was jointly launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States last month.
The Bahraini side expressed hope that the two sides will strengthen cooperation between Bahrain’s “Economic Vision 2030” and the BRI, “expand cooperation in fields such as trade, investment, energy, science and technology, and infrastructure, and further deepen Arab States’ relations with China in the post-pandemic era.”
Oman
On March 29, Wang Yi met with Omani Minister of the Royal Office Sultan bin Mohammed al Nu’amani in Muscat. Wang said that China was willing to boost bilateral cooperation in fields such as trade, investment, 5G, and information technology, in pursuit of assisting Oman in diversifying its economy.
On the same day, Wang Yi also met with Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation between China’s BRI and Oman’s “2040 Vision”. “China stands ready to promote the South-South cooperation with the Middle East countries, defend the common interests, and facilitate common development,” Wang noted. In response, Fahd said that China “plays a key role in both regional and international arenas and makes a significant contribution to the peaceful development in the region and across the globe.”
Wang Yi also had a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi. Wang said that both sides “need to cement their cooperation in sports and tourism” and expressed hope to “join hands with Oman and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states to create a China-GCC free trade zone”.
Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP)
On March 30, Wang Yi attended the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process through a video message. The minister made suggestions and expectations in three areas: first, sustaining the momentum of peace talks and reconciliation in Afghanistan; adding impetus to reconstruction and development in the country; and keeping to the overall direction of counter-terrorism cooperation regarding Afghanistan.
“China is a friendly neighbour of Afghanistan. We will continue to do the best we can to support, mediate and facilitate Afghanistan’s peace and reconciliation process,” Wang said. He further added that China “will work in concert with all other parties of the Istanbul Process and the international community to bring peace to every corner of Afghanistan at an early date and deliver the benefits of development to the entire Afghan people.”
RECAP: Chinese FM Wang Yi’s Middle East Tour
Over the past few days, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi travelled across the Middle East and Central Asia, meeting with officials from Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and more.
April 2, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS