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TOKYO, May 30 (KUNA) -- China and Arab countries adopted a joint statement on the Palestinian issue on Thursday, as they held the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The joint statement expresses deep concerns of China and Arab states over the prolonged conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, according to the agency.
It emphasizes the firm stance and important consensus of the two sides in promoting a ceasefire in Gaza, ensuring humanitarian aid, opposing the forced displacement of Palestinian people, supporting Palestine's full membership in the UN, and steadfastly working toward an early resolution of the Palestinian issue based on the two-State solution.
At the conference, the two sides also adopted the Beijing Declaration and the forum's execution plan for 2024-2026, the report said. The Beijing Declaration reviews the important consensus and progress in implementing the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit and clarifies the practical path for promoting the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.
It reaffirms that China and Arab states will continue to support each other on core interests, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and expound on their shared positions on political resolution of regional hot issues, dialogue among civilizations, global governance, counter-terrorism, human rights, artificial intelligence, climate change, etc.
The execution plan charts the course for strengthening the building of a forum mechanism in the next two years and promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in fields such as politics, economy and trade, investment, finance, infrastructure, resources and environment, cultural exchange, aerospace, education and health.
In addition, China signed a number of bilateral and multilateral cooperation documents with the participating countries and the General Secretariat of the Arab League.
Trade between China and the Arab League has witnessed robust expansion as the two sides bolstered economic cooperation since the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum was established 20 years ago, Xinhua said, citing customs data.
Total goods trade volume between China and members of the Arab League surged to CNY 2.8 trillion (USD 393.5 billion) in 2023 from CNY 303.8 billion (USD 42.2 billion) in 2004, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
In the first four months of 2024, China's imports and exports with the Arab League climbed 3.8 percent year on year to a historic high of CNY 946.2 billion (USD 133.2 billion), accounting for 6.9 percent of the country's total foreign trade value.
China is the largest source of automobile imports, as well as textiles and garments, to the Arab League, while the member states are China's largest import source of energy products. In the first four months of 2024, China imported CNY 397.3 billion (USD 54.8 billion) worth of energy products from the Arab League, or 38 percent of China's total energy product imports in this period. (pick up previous)
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