Press Communiqué of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue Between the People's Republic of China and The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

4 June 2010

The First Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between China and the GCC released a press communiqué on 4 June 2010. The following is the full text:

Press Communiqué of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue Between the People's Republic of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

Beijing, 4 June 2010

The First Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the People's Republic of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) was held in Beijing on 4 June 2010.

The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi of the People's Republic of China and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah of the State of Kuwait, which takes the current presidency of the Ministerial Council of the GCC. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash of the United Arab Emirates, which will take the next presidency of the GCC, and Secretary General of the GCC Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah also attended the meeting.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met with the GCC delegation. The two sides had in-depth discussions in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and reached broad common understanding on China-GCC relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Both sides acknowledged the continued progress and rich results in China-GCC ties over recent years. Both sides believed that the launching of the strategic dialogue mechanism will help further enhance mutual trust, strengthen mutually-beneficial cooperation and increase consultation and coordination between the two sides in international organizations. The two sides stressed their readiness to continue to step up cooperation in various areas.

The two sides were satisfied with the outcomes of the first round of the Strategic Dialogue between China and the GCC and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Strategic Dialogue Between the People's Republic of China and Member States of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

The two sides agreed to hold the Second Ministerial Meeting of the China-GCC Strategic Dialogue in the United Arab Emirates in 2011.

The GCC expressed its appreciation and gratitude to the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese people for their generous hospitality and thoughtful arrangements.