Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), multilateral mechanisms have become an important platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Amid changes unseen in a century, as a strategic pillar of the multilateral world configuration, Arab countries have seen their strategic independence increased, with ever growing international influence. In December 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia and attended in Riyadh the first China-Arab States Summit and the first China-GCC Summit. China-Arab cooperation, mutually beneficial in nature, has set a fine example of South-South cooperation. Seventeen cooperation mechanisms have been set up within the framework of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. The China-Arab States Summit plays a guiding role in the development of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in the new era. Mechanism building is of great significance and relevance for promoting the building of a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future.

MULTILATERAL MECHANISMS CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED FOR BUILDING A CHINA-ARAB COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

Both China and Arab states are developing countries. Both sides have been exploring a new model of interactions featuring equality and mutually beneficial cooperation, with a view to giving new meaning to the China-Arab Community with a Shared Future through institutional development. Through coordinating the efforts of over 20 ministries and departments as well as subnational and non-governmental forces domestically and those of regional and sub-regional organizations such as the Arab League, the GCC, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation internationally, China has been pressing ahead with the improvement of multilateral mechanisms for building a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future, which fall into three large categories of comprehensive mechanisms, thematic mechanisms and composite mechanisms.

Comprehensive mechanisms can be represented by the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum guided by the China-Arab States Summit, with the purpose of promoting China-Arab cooperation across the board. The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum covers a wide range of areas including political, security, trade, energy and cultural cooperation. The Forum includes the biannual ministerial meeting and the Senior Officials’ Meeting, high-level Strategic and Political Dialogue, the Dialogue Conference between Arab and Chinese Civilizations, and the China-Arab States Forum on Reform and Development, etc., of which the ministerial meetings have played a fundamental role.

Thematic mechanisms aim at promoting cooperation in specific areas, such as the China-Arab States Political Parties Dialogue held by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. In November 2022, the third China-Arab States Political Parties Dialogue was successfully held, with the participation of representatives of over 80 political parties, organizations, think tanks and media outlets from 17 Arab states. Other thematic mechanisms include, among others, the China-Arab States Energy Cooperation Conference held by the National Energy Administration, the China-Arab States Information Cooperation Forum held by the Information Office of the State Council, the China-Arab Cities Forum hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the China-Arab Solidarity Conference held by the Chinese-Arab Friendship Association, the China-Arab Beidou Cooperation Forum held by the China Satellite Navigation Office, the China-Arab States Wbmen’s Forum held by the All-China Wbmen’s Federation, and the China-Arab Health Cooperation Forum held by the National Health Commission.

Composite mechanisms refer to multilateral cooperation mechanisms with joint contributions from central and local governments as well as the civil society Such mechanisms include the China-Arab Business Conference and Investment Seminar jointly held by the CPPCC, the State Council, the Foreign Ministry, the CCPIX and local governments, the Arab Art Festival and Chinese Art Festival jointly held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Foreign Ministry and local governments, the China-Arab States Broadcasting and Television Cooperation Forum held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the National Radio and Television Administration, and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the China-Arab States Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation Conference jointly held by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the China-Arab Expo is jointly held by the CCPIX the Ministry of Commerce and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as well as forums under its umbrella including the China-Arab Agricultural Cooperation Forum, and the China-Arab University Chan-cellors’ Forum, the Water Resources Forum, and the Great Health Industrial Forum. These composite mechanisms have constituted meaningful supplement to the existing cooperation mechanisms between China and Arab countries. In addition to central and local governments, universities, think tanks, businesses, and social organizations have also been actively involved, giving new meaning to the development of multilateral mechanisms for China-Arab cooperation.

Aimed at building a community with a shared future, China and Arab countries have tapped into multilateral mechanisms to deepen cooperation in the four areas of political ties, trade, high-tech and culture. First of all, at the political level, China has used multilateral mechanisms to build partnership networks to deepen China-Arab strategic partnerships. The China-GCC strategic partnership and dialogue mechanisms have been enhanced. China has designated special envoy for the Middle East Issues, the Syrian issue, and the Hom of Africa affairs, as well as ambassador for the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and representative at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which has further consolidated the foundation of China-Arab political cooperation. China and Arab countries have jointly called for multilateralism, antiunilateralism, and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs as well as respect for the right of countries to independently choose their own development path and for solving the Middle East disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation. Within multilateral frameworks, both sides have fought extremism, separatism and terrorism, stood opposed to linking terrorism with certain nationalities or religions, and rejected “politicizing” human rights issues and “weapon-ing” sanctions. The two sides have also maintained consultations on issues related to Palestine-Israel relations, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Lebanon, and the Ukraine crisis, thus deepening cooperation on regional flash points.

Second, in terms of economic and trade ties, China and Arab countries have strengthened cooperation in infrastructure development, which has facilitated the improvement of people’s livelihood in Arab countries. Through cooperation in industrial parks, greater impetus has been injected into harmony between land and maritime economic development as well as urban and rural development. Focusing on people’s welfare, a comprehensive approach has been taken to improve the livelihood of the people. Financial cooperation between China and Arab countries has been strengthened. For example, the China Investment Corporation and the Silk Road Fund have matched up with the sovereign wealth funds of Arab countries to expand the scope of local currency swaps. In June 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Islamic Development Bank signed a cooperation agreement to assist the member states of the IDB in setting up anti-pandemic public health laws. Since 2021, the UAE and Egypt have joined the BRICS’ New Development Bank successively Despite the pandemic, the trade volume between China and Arab countries still exceeded US$ 330 billion, with an increase of 37% YoY In the first three quarters of 2022, China-Arab trade reached nearly US$ 320 billion. The Arab League has become China’s largest supplier of crude oil and China has become the largest trading partner for the Arab League.

Third, in terms of high-tech, China and Arab countries have strengthened cooperation in space, the cyber space, as well as green and digital Silk Roads, promoting the development of new infrastructure such as cyber infrastructure, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and E-commerce to grasp the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The two sides also enhanced cooperation in 5G and 6G. Huawei and the MCIT of Saudi Arabia have signed an investment agreement. China has established its first overseas Beidou Center of Excellence in Tunisia to promote China-Arab cooperation in the area of satellite navigation. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have participated in China’s lunar probe program. In 2021, China and the Arab League released the China-Arab Initiative on Digital Security Cooperation, providing the wisdom and strength of developing countries for global digital governance. In 2022, COP 27 of the UNFCCC was held in Egypt. The COP Conference 2023 will be held in the UAE. China-Arab cooperation on new energy and green economy is burgeoning.

Last but not least, in terms of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, mechanisms such as the China-Arab States Cultural Ministers⁵ Forum and the Arab/Chinese Art Festival have gone into greater depth. By 2022, China has set up 20 Confucius Institutes and 2 Confucius Classrooms in 13 Arab countries. The two sides have made use of the China-Arab Research Center on Reform and Development, the China-Arab Information Exchange Center and the China-Arab Digital Library Website to promote the mutual translation of literal classics. As laid out in the eight initiatives of the China-Arab States Summit, China will host the China-Arab Youth Development Forum, launch the ^€t10+10 University Cooperation Program”, and invite 100 young scientists and 3000 youth from Arab countries to engage in cultural exchanges with their Chinese counterparts. In the post-pandemic era, more and more Arab countries will become the destinations of Chinese tourists.

PROMOTING THE BUILDING OF A CHINA-ARAB COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE WITH MULTILATERAL MECHANISMS

As pointed out by President Xi Jinping, the human community is an integral whole, and Earth is our common home. The Chinese government, from the perspective of building a community with a shared future for mankind, stands for mutually beneficial cooperation between countries. China and Arab countries have enjoyed fruitful political, economic, high-tech and cultural cooperation, with increasing cooperation in other areas, which has laid a solid foundation for building a China-Arab community with a shared future. Looking ahead, China and Arab countries need to reaffirm their commitments, create new momentums, shape the capacities for strategic coordination and risk-resistance, and deepen cooperation in regional security, state governance, and global governance.

First, deepening practical cooperation on regional security Western powers have established exclusive military alliances in the Middle East, which, instead of solving the security issues in the Middle East, has actually aggravated regional conflicts. After the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the attention of traditional powers to the Middle East diminished, with inadequate capabilities for providing public security goods. China and Arab countries should dovetail the Global Security Initiative with the Arab Peace Initiative to provide wisdom and solutions for building a community of common security China advocates a new security concept featuring common, comprehensive, coorporative, and sustainable security, supporting the sovereignty, unity, stability and territorial integrity of Arab countries. We have put forward four proposals for solving the Syrian issue, three-point approach for implementing the two-state solution, five proposals for realizing security and stability in the Middle East, and explored new solutions for solving hotspot issues in the Middle East. In recent years, China has helped Arab countries in enhancing capacity building on security, implemented law-enforcement and police training projects and participated in UN peace-keeping missions in the Middle East. The Middle East Security Forum has initiated mechanism building for security cooperation between the two sides. In 2022, China successfully held the second Middle East Security Forum. China and Africa should also enhance maritime security cooperation to safeguard the security of maritime pathways in the Gulf region, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean.

Second, forging more dynamics for development focusing on the sharing of government experiences. Development is the biggest common denominator for Middle East countries. Over the past decade and more, the Arab world has experienced turmoil and conflict, reducing itself to a wrestling ground for geopolitical grappling and losing strategic opportunities for development. In the new historical era, Arab countries are eager to find paths to modernization in light of national realities, and are improving their relations with non-Arab countries such as Iran, Turkey and Israel. The internal relations of the Arab world have also warmed up. The regional configuration is expected to transfer from an old Middle East of war and violence to a new Middle East of peace and development. According to the “eight common actions” laid out at the China-Arab States Summit, China will provide the Arab side with RMB 5 billion in development assistance programs, granting zero tariff for 98% of items for least developed Arab countries, thus helping Arab countries realize their poverty reduction targets with real actions. Going forward, China and Arab countries should step up experience sharing in poverty reduction, industrial transfer; development of special economic zones, smart cities, infrastructure, clean energy, desert prevention and management, digital economy and ecological conservation so as to promote common development. The demonstration effect of the China-Arab Technological Transfer Center should also be brought into full play

Third, strengthening cooperation in the area of global governance to increase the say of developing countries in the international community Against the backdrop of strategic competition of major powers and the transformation of Middle East countries, the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future has reflected the common aspirations of developing countries to enhance strength in unity and strategic autonomy. Looking into the future, China and Arab countries should take the good opportunity of implementing the Global Development Initiative and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, give more publicity to the idea of ^€tpro-moting security through develop-ment”, and “civilizational dialogues” based on cultural mutual learning, and stand opposed to “‘conflict of civilizations” and “‘cultural superior-ity^J, in multilateral institutions such as the UN, G20, the IME the World Bank, and the IAEA. China and Arab countries should also engage in dialogue centering on global climate governance mechanisms and strengthen cooperation on nonproliferation and nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

CONCLUSION

The successful convocation of the first China-Arab States Summit and China-GCC Summit has fully demonstrated the holistic and practical nature of China-Arab strategic partnership that goes along with the trends of the times. The decision was made at the Summit to build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era. The Outline of the Comprehensive Cooperation Plan between China and Arab States has been formulated to draw up a blueprint for China-Arab relations, which will usher in in-depth cooperation across the board such as development support, food security, public health, green innovation, energy security, inter-civilizational dialogue, youth development, and security and stability

A cargo ship docks at the multipurpose port terminal in Dohare, Djibouti City, the capital of Djibouti.

With changes unseen in a century and ever more fierce major country rivalry, the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future will set an example for solidarity and coordination among developing countries and make new contributions to more diversified globalization and for developing countries to realize modernization.