On the morning of May 30, 2024, President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and delivered a keynote speech at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Xi Jinping announced that China will host the second China-Arab States Summit in 2026. China is ready to work with the Arab side to carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship, and put in place the "five cooperation frameworks" to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

Everything is flourishing in the vibrant summer month. The national flags of China and Arab countries as well as the flag of the League of Arab States shined brilliantly together at the Fanghua Garden of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Xi Jinping shook hands with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tunisia's President Kais Saied, the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit of the League of Arab States, and 22 heads of delegations of Arab states one by one and took a group photo with them.

Amid warm applause, Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled "Further Deepening Cooperation and Moving Forward to Step up the Building of a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future".

Xi Jinping pointed out that the friendship between the Chinese and Arab peoples is deeply rooted in their friendly exchanges along the ancient Silk Road, in their joint struggles for national liberation, and in their win-win cooperation in promoting national development. China-Arab relations have kept scaling new heights since the beginning of the new century. At the first China-Arab States Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2022, the Chinese side and the Arab side agreed unanimously to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era. The Chinese side will work with the Arab side to enhance the role of the Summit in providing strategic guidance for continued leapfrog growth of China-Arab relations. China will host the second Summit in 2026, which will be another milestone in China-Arab relations.

Xi Jinping stressed that as changes unseen in a century unfold rapidly across the world, both China and Arab states strive to accomplish their historical missions of national rejuvenation and faster national development. Building a China-Arab community with a shared future is a strong statement of their common desire for a new era of China-Arab relations and a better future for the world. China will work closely with the Arab side as good partners in the spirit of equality, mutual benefit, inclusiveness and mutual learning to make their relations a model for maintaining world peace and stability, a fine example of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, a paradigm of harmonious coexistence between civilizations and a model for promoting good global governance.

Xi Jinping pointed out that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, early harvests have been achieved in all the "eight major cooperation initiatives" he put forward for practical cooperation between the two sides at the first China-Arab States Summit. China is ready to work with the Arab side on that basis to put in place the following "five cooperation frameworks" to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

The first is a more dynamic framework for innovation. China will build with the Arab side ten joint laboratories in such areas as life and health, AI, green and low-carbon development, modern agriculture, and space and information technology. The two sides will enhance cooperation on AI to make it empower the real economy and to promote a broad-based global governance system on AI. The two sides will build a joint space debris observation center and a Beidou application, cooperation and development center, and step up cooperation in manned space mission and passenger aircraft.

The second is an expanded framework for investment and finance cooperation. China is ready to establish with the Arab side an industry and investment cooperation forum, supports closer cooperation between financial institutions from the two sides, welcomes Arab banks to join the Cross-border Interbank Payment System, and deepen exchanges and cooperation on central bank digital currency with the Arab side.

The third is a more multifaceted framework for energy cooperation. China will further enhance strategic cooperation with the Arab side on oil and gas, and jointly work on new energy technology R&D and equipment production. China will support Chinese energy companies and financial institutions in participating in renewable energy projects in Arab states.

The fourth is a more balanced framework for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties. The Chinese side will continue to implement vigorously the development cooperation projects between China and Arab states, accelerate the negotiations on bilateral and regional free trade agreements and advance the dialogue mechanism for e-commerce cooperation. It welcomes the active participation of the Arab side in the China International Import Expo, and is willing to expand the import of non-energy products from the Arab side, especially agricultural products.

The fifth is a broader framework for people-to-people exchanges. China is ready to establish with the Arab side the China-Arab Center of Global Civilization Initiative, and accelerate the establishment of such platforms as the think tank alliance, the youth development forum, the university alliance, and the research center on cultural and tourism cooperation. China will invite 200 leaders of Arab political parties to visit China every year. China plans to achieve the goal of 10 million two-way visits of tourists in the next five years.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it. War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever. Commitment to the two-State solution should not be wavered at will. China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference. The Chinese side will continue to provide support and emergency humanitarian assistance to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and post-conflict reconstruction.

In conclusion, Xi Jinping said, "As an Arab saying goes, friends are the sunshine in life. We will continue to work with our Arab friends to carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship, build together a better future, and make the road sunny toward a China-Arab community with a shared future!"

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tunisia's President Kais Saied, the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit of the League of Arab States delivered remarks respectively.

Cai Qi was present at the above event.

Wang Yi presided over the opening ceremony.