BAHRAIN NEWS AGENCY - 03/05/2016
Manama, May 3 (BNA): The Chinese ambassador to Bahrain has highlighted the strong Arab-Chinese relations and close cooperation, saying they were built on their rich history and on their keenness to move forward successfully. "Both the Chinese and Arab nations have created splendid civilizations, and have experienced twists and turns amidst the changes of the time in the modern history, thus national rejuvenation has always been the pursuit of both sides," Qi Zhenhong said. "Let us shoulder to shoulder promote the Silk Road Spirit, deepen China-Arab cooperation, realise the Chinese dream and revitalise the Arab States." The ambassador said that when people look at the history of exchanges between the Chinese and Arab peoples, they think of the overland Silk Road and the maritime spice route. "Through the ancient Silk Road, the ancestors of the Chinese and Arab peoples took the lead in the friendly exchanges among nations in the ancient world. For hundreds of years, the spirit that the Silk Road bears, namely, peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefits and win-win results, has lived on through generations and written an important chapter in the history of exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. The Chinese and Arab peoples have supported each other in maintaining national dignity and safeguarding state sovereignty, helped each other in exploring development path and achieving national rejuvenation, and learned from each other in deepening people-to-people and cultural exchanges and revitalizing national culture," the ambassador told Bahrain News Agency (BNA). The establishment of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2002 was a strategic step the two sides took for the long-term development of the China-Arab relations. "During the past 14 years , the two sides have successfully transformed the forum into a platform for systematical cooperation between China and Arab states which enriches the connotation of China-Arab relations. We hope that both sides seize the new opportunity of joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen communication on policy, deepen practical cooperation, and constantly pioneer and innovate to build a successful Forum," Zhenhong said. In the Sixth Ministerial Conference of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing in 2014, the two sides reached an important consensus on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.
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