Address by H.E. Wen Jiabao
Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
At the Opening Session of the Fourth China-Arab Business Conference
And Investment Seminar Under the Framework
Of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum

Sharjah, UAE, 18 January 2012

Your Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad A1 Qasimi of the Emirate of Sharjah
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

Good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to attend the fourth China-Arab Business Conference. I wish to thank our host for the thoughtful arrangements. Over the past two days, I have met with leaders of the UAE, attended the World Future Energy Summit and engaged widely with public representatives. Through these interactions, I have keenly felt the friendly sentiments of the UAE people. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I wish to extend cordial greetings and best wishes to the brotherly Arab people.

The great Arab civilization contributed significantly to the world civilization. The Arab people scored unique achievements in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and law, and played a critical role in the exchanges between the East and the West. While Europe was in the Middle Ages, the Islamic civilization was already in its heyday. It was only by standing on the shoulders of the giants of the Muslim world that the great thinkers and masters of literature and arts of the European Renaissance were able to make their glorious achievements and demonstrate great vision. The Islamic spirit - love for peace, reason and tolerance and pursuit of science and knowledge, exerted a major impact on the spiritual life of mankind. Shining stars of the Islamic civilization illuminate the sky of human civilization.

This is my first visit to Gulf countries, and this trip has helped me gain new understanding about the Arab world. I was overwhelmed by the Khalifa Tower in Dubai, a symbol of the Arab people's firm will to pursue dreams and make wonders on barren land. The Gulf region consists mostly of inhospitable deserts, but, it is a land that challenges people to survive and thrive. It reminds me of China's northwest region where I worked as a young man. That region covers a wide expanse of wilderness and the Gobi desert, a natural environment similar to the Gulf area. There grows a kind of tree called Euphrates poplar. Like the Jujube trees in the Gulf area, the Euphrates poplars, defying drought and sandstorm, have an extraordinary force of life. I highly admire the spirit embodied by Euphrates poplars. It represents the character of the Chinese and Arab peoples, a character that has enabled us to emerge from difficulties stronger. People with such a character will prevail over any hardship and embrace a bright future.

Exchanges between China and Arab states have a long history. Over the years, we have forged a deep friendship, sharing weal and woe. Our two great peoples have similar experiences, as we both went through many hardships and untold sufferings. Centuries ago, our forefathers engaged in trade and cultural exchanges via the Silk Road across deserts and seas and became good partners of mutual benefit. In modern times, China and Arab states have shown mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual support and mutual help in our struggles for independence and national dignity and in our long endeavor for a fair and equitable new international political and economic order. We have become good friends through thick and thin. The Chinese people will never forget that when a massive earthquake struck Wenchuan, China in 2008, our Arab brothers offered prompt and generous help. As long distance brings out the strength of a horse, a friend in need is a friend indeed. The history of China-Arab exchanges is a history of friendship and mutual assistance.

Business cooperation has been the most long-standing and dynamic component of China-Arab relations. It is an important bond linking the Chinese and Arab peoples. With our respective comparative strengths, we are natural trade partners. Over the decades, China-Arab business cooperation has maintained sound momentum. In the recent ten years, our bilateral trade has been growing at an average annual rate of over 30%. The Arab states are now China's seventh largest trading partner. In 2011, our trade further grew in the face of difficulties and reached a new high. Arab states represent an important market for investment and project contracting of Chinese companies. In addition to the traditional fields of trade and investment, our cooperation in finance, aviation, tourism, agriculture and human resources is also flourishing. Economic cooperation and trade has brought real benefits to our peoples and advanced their well-being. As our economic cooperation continues to grow, our relations will get closer and friendship between our peoples will become more solid.

To promote continued growth of China-Arab relations is the important responsibility of governments of the two sides. In 2010, I attended the Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Tianjin, China. During that meeting, the two sides decided to forge a strategic and cooperative relationship of all-round cooperation and common development, thus elevating our relations to a new level. This time, I have come to the Gulf region to further advance our friendship and cooperation. China and Saudi Arabia have agreed to further upgrade the strategic relationship, and China and the UAE have declared the establishment of a strategic partnership. China signed with the two countries over ten agreements covering economic cooperation, trade, energy, finance, infrastructure development and culture. The value of economic cooperation and trade agreements is around RMB100 billion yuan. Moreover, China and the UAE signed a currency swap agreement worth RMB35 billion yuan, the first of its kind between China and an Arab country. During my meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the two sides agreed to further strengthen political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, conduct diverse forms of exchanges and continue to upgrade our bilateral relations. We hope that this visit will raise cooperation between China and Gulf countries to a new level and bring China and Arab countries even closer.

Dear friends,

The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes with historic implications. Destabilizing factors and uncertainties have visibly increased. Crises and turbulence keep emerging, and regional hot-spot issues and global challenges are intertwined. Important changes have taken place in west Asia and north Africa, bringing major challenges and impact to countries in the region. As a good friend, good partner and good brother of Arab countries, China has closely followed developments in the region and stands ready to assist in peace and development of the region within the realm of its capabilities. We believe that the difficulties Arab countries now face will be temporary. The Arab people have a time-honored history and splendid culture, a glorious tradition of valuing peace and reason, and an indomitable and resilient spirit in the face of adversity. They have withstood the test of hardship with wisdom and perseverance. The Chinese people believe that inspired by their traditional culture and following the trend of times, the Arab people will overcome the existing difficulties, run their own affairs well and realize national rejuvenation and modernization.

China gives high priority to its relations with Arab countries and regards them as an important part of China's overall foreign relations. A review of China-Arab exchanges shows that no matter how the international situation may change and how many challenges and difficulties we may face, our two sides have always cherished the traditional friendship, remained good friends who can be trusted, good partners who can be counted on and good brothers who stand by each other through thick and thin. Given the current complex international circumstances, it is all the more important for China and Arab countries, as old friends, to work closely together in the face of adversity. Here, I wish to make the following proposals:

First, strengthen political mutual trust and deepen strategic cooperation, China and Arab countries are developing countries. Our combined population accounts for 1/4 of the world's total and our land takes up 1/6 of the world's total. To increase mutual understanding and trust, promote strategic cooperation and support each other's core concerns serves our common interests. China is a staunch force supporting peace, stability and development in countries of the region. China supports the efforts of the Gulf countries and the GCC in maintaining stability and improving people's well-being. We maintain that the affairs of a region should be decided by the countries and peoples of the region themselves, and their wish and aspiration for change should be respected. We support countries in the region in choosing independently a development path suited to their national conditions. We stand for a stable and balanced regional architecture of power and encourage countries in the region to handle their relations based on the principles of mutual respect and good-neighborliness and address their differences through dialogue and consultation in a rational way. We are ready to work with the Arab countries to play a constructive role in regional and international affairs and build a more just and equitable new international political and economic order.

Second, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation for common development. Cooperation between countries can only last when it is based on mutual benefit. China and Arab countries are highly complementary economically and enjoy bright prospects for business cooperation. We need to open our markets wider to each other and fully tap our comparative strengths to expand trade. China has no intention to pursue trade surplus and wants to import more from Arab countries, especially non-energy products, to make our trade better structured and more stable. We need to enhance mutual understanding and trust, deepen energy and resources cooperation and build a long-term and stable cooperative relationship of mutual benefit. We need to work together to improve investment facilitation and provide a better policy environment and good services to businesses of the two sides. China will continue to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Arab countries and undertake more large projects. We also welcome Arab companies to invest and develop business in China. As a sincere friend of Arab countries, China pays close attention to the development and reinvigoration of Arab countries. We will continue to provide economic and technical assistance to those Arab countries in need and undertake more projects that benefit the Arab people.

Third, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and carry forward the traditional friendship. Both the Chinese and Arab civilizations are treasures of human civilization. They deserve an important place in the diverse world civilization and in the exchanges between different civilizations. We need to seize opportunities brought by globalization and progress in science and information technology to enhance and enrich our cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and promote mutual respect and harmony among people of different races, religions, beliefs and cultures. China supports the holding of the China-Arab Civilization Dialogue, the China-Arab Friendship Conference and the China-Arab Press Cooperation Seminar on a continuous basis, and welcomes more exhibitions, art festivals, cultural weeks and publication of more fine works by the two sides. We would like to see more exchange students between us and will continue to promote Arabic language teaching in China. We stand ready to enhance human resources cooperation with Arab countries and will meet the target of training 1,000 professionals for Arab countries each year between 2010 and 2012. We hope to receive more Arab tourists in China and support more Arab countries in acquiring the Approved Destination Status for Chinese tourists. As our cultural and people-to-people exchanges deepen, the Chinese and Arab people will be more closely linked, our consensus will expand and our friendship will be passed on from generation to generation.

This conference is a gathering of entrepreneurs and also a seminar on investment. You are all leading representatives from the Chinese and Arab business communities, and have been intensely involved in promoting the economic cooperation and trade between the two sides. As we speak now, the underlying impact of the global financial crisis still persists, adding to the uncertainty of the global recovery and posing severe challenges to all countries in pursuing development. Arab countries, including the Gulf countries, have also been seriously affected. This has made our conference all the more important. We are all developing countries standing at a critical stage of developing the economy and improving people's life. We all face the urgent task of countering the global financial crisis and speeding up economic transformation and upgrading. We must work hand in hand to broaden and deepen our win-win cooperation and raise it to a higher level to deliver more benefits to our people. A major step to deepen China-Arab business cooperation is to build the China-GCC Free Trade Area, which will be a milestone in China-Arab relations. The negotiations have been going on for seven and a half years, and the business communities of both sides wish to see the negotiation process accelerated. As the negotiations approach a close, the two sides need to show greater political will and strive to conclude the negotiations and sign the agreement as soon as possible. China understands the expectations of the GCC countries and will push for substantive progress in the negotiations with utmost sincerity. The launch of the free trade area will bring huge business opportunities to companies of both sides. I hope that you will seize the opportunity, pursue ambitious goals and contribute your part to the growth and prosperity of China-Arab economic cooperation and trade.

Dear friends,

Both the Chinese and Arab peoples have made extraordinary contribution to the progress of human civilization. For thousands of years, our forefathers exerted their wisdom and strength for the well-being of mankind and played their part in promoting world peace and development. Today, countries are more interconnected and interdependent than ever before and the entire human race faces common challenges and opportunities. We need to seek common ground while shelving differences, discard bias and prejudice, and work together to resolve disputes with a more open and inclusive mind. We should enhance win-win cooperation, uphold peace and build a stable, harmonious and happy world through joint efforts. A philosopher once said, "To compose our character is our duty, not to compose books, and to win, not battles and provinces, but order and tranquility in our conduct. Our great and glorious masterpiece is to live appropriately." Let us join hands and forge ahead in keeping with the trend of our time towards a bright future of lasting peace and prosperity of mankind.

Thank you.