A+ A-

China supports Palestine''s bid for full-fledged UN membership - amb to Kuwait

Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait Huang Jiemin
Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait Huang Jiemin
By Hani Al-Bahrani (with photos) KUWAIT, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- China supports the Palestinian Authority's bid for a full-fledged membership at the United Nations, Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait Huang Jiemin said Saturday.
"We support the Palestinian people's right of establishing an independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ambassador Huang told reporters on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of founding the People's Republic of China (October 1st,1949).
"We hope that all concerned parties refrain from violence, resort to wisdom and practice self-restraint, as well as solving conflicts through negotiations, as it is the sole path to reach a two-state solution," he stressed.
As for Chinese-Kuwaiti relations, Huang said "both countries, this year, are celebrating 40 years of diplomatic ties between them. This period had, and still is, witnessing mutual understanding and support of issues of common interest, in addition to fruitful cooperation regarding regional and international affairs." Kuwaiti-Chinese diplomatic relations date back to March 22, 1971.
"Beijing fully and adamantly supports Kuwait's efforts to maintain its independence and sovereignty, as well as legitimate demands resulting from consequences of Kuwait's Liberation," the Ambassador pointed out.
"Trade volume reached USD 8.5 billion in 2010; 40 times more compared to the beginning of official diplomatic relations. Some USD 6.1 billion is the trade volume for the first seven months of this year.
"In the first half of this year, China imported some five million tons of crude oil from Kuwait, which deep-seated Kuwait's status as of the major oil exporters to China," he said.
In May 2009, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid a successful visit to China and reached a significant consensus with President Hu Jintao on means to deep-root bilateral relations even further.
"Sustainable development is the only way to achieve decent living for the Chinese people and peoples of the world. China is still suffering from imbalance in its sustainable development," he noted.
"The main objective of Chinese diplomacy is to create a sound and stable global environment to nourish development, as Beijing is contributing to peace and shall never seek world dominance. It will always be a devoted power to support regional and international peace." He explained that despite the fact that China made progress in developing its military abilities in recent years, yet such progress remains "within reasonable limits and for sheer defensive purposes." On China-GCC relations, he said both sides see eye-to-eye when it comes to significance of strategic dialogue between them, noting that bilateral relations, in recent years, saw an overall, rapid and mature development.
On Chinese-Arab relations, Ambassador Huang said "both China and the Arab world are categorized as developing nations, so they both face similar challenges, whether in developing their economy or improving their peoples' living standards.
"China became the Arab countries' second largest commercial partner, while the Arab world is the seventh to China, with trade volume reaching USD 145.46 billion in 2010." Regarding political developments in West Asia and North Africa, he said that Beijing is closely observing the situation due to the two regions' strategic geographic location.
"Beijing fully supports diplomatic efforts being exerted to help restore stability in the region. I call on the United Nations to practice its role in this regard," he said, adding "settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iran's nuclear issue are essential for the region's peace and development." As for Chinese-US relations, Ambassador Huang said both the US and Chinese presidents agreed to establish cooperative ties and a partnership based on mutual respect through intensifying dialogue at all levels and manifest this dialogue on ground. (end) hb KUNA 241605 Sep 11NNNN