Review of China-Arab Friendship Association’s Major Work in 2014

Since it was founded on December 21， 2001， the China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) has worked hard to fulfill its mission to enhance mutual understanding and friendship， expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas and jointly maintaining regional and world peace.

In the election of CAFA leadership on March 25， 2014， Arken Imirbaki， Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress， became the new president. Since then， he has actively supported and participated in the activities organized by the CAFA and won praise from personages of various circles in Arab countries， further promoting people-to-people friendship with Arab countries.

Major Activities in Multilateral Public Diplomacy and City Diplomacy

The First China-Arab Cities Forum， co-sponsored by the CAFA and the Arab Towns Organization (ATO)， was successfully held in Quanzhou June 17-18. It proved to be one of the CAFA’s most important activities in multilateral public diplomacy and city diplomacy for the purpose of carrying forward the Silk Road spirit and implementing the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping at the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

The forum was attended by about 200 people， including Arken Imirbaki， Deng Liping， Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial People’s Congress; Zheng Xiaosong， Deputy Governor of Fujian Province; Feng Zuoku， CPAFFC Vice President; as well as Chinese and Arab representatives from 36 towns and cities of 10 Arab countries， academic institutions， enterprises and media.

The First China-Arab Cities Forum Declaration and the Initiative of Establishment of City Alliances along the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century were approved. It was decided that a mechanism for holding the forum every two years would be established and the organizer of the next forum would be determined by the CAFA and the ATO through consultation. Five pairs of Chinese and Arab cities signed letters of intent on forming friendship city ties.

Meeting Between High-Level

Leaders of Two Countries

On November 4， 2014， Arken Imirbaki met with Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani who was on a state visit to China. The Sheikh said the Chinese people were friends of the Arab people. Qatar had never forgotten China’s consistent support of the just cause of Arab countries. During his visit， the two countries upgraded their bilateral relations to the strategic level.

As to people-to-people exchanges， the Sheikh said nongovernmental organizations， particularly the CAFA， had played an important role in promoting a friendly cooperative relationship between the Chinese and Arab people. Qatar attached great importance to the CAFA， and was willing to strengthen cooperation to jointly promote further development of people-to-people friendly cooperative relations.

Arken briefed the Sheikh about the CAFA and its work in recent years， saying that China attached importance to friendly cooperative relations with Qatar， and the CAFA was willing to fully cooperate with the Qatari side and contribute to furthering friendship and cooperation.

Reception in Celebration of Diplomatic Relations and Commemoration Meeting

On the evening of November 28， the CPAFFC， the CAFA and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in China co-sponsored a reception in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the UAE. Among about 500 attendees were CAFA President Arken Imirbaki， Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming， CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku， leading officials of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC， the Ministry of Commerce， the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education， as well as UAE Ambassador Omar Al-Bitar， envoys of Arab and relevant countries， and representatives of Chinese and Arab media.

Feng Zuoku and Omar Al-Bitar spoke at the reception. Feng said， in the past 30 years， the governments and people of the two countries had displayed mutual respect and sincere cooperation and formed profound friendship. Particularly， since the two countries formed their strategic partnership in 2012， the bilateral relations had developed rapidly in an all-round way， and the two countries had carried out fruitful cooperation in various areas， bringing tangible benefits.

Ambassador Omar Al-Bitar expressed his satisfaction with the smooth development of bilateral relations. He spoke highly of the outstanding achievements China had made in various fields， and hoped that the two countries would work to push the bilateral relationship towards broader areas at deeper and higher levels.

On December 4， the CPAFFC and the CAFA held a reception in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and in celebration of the China-Arab Friendship Day. CAFA President Arken Imirbaki， Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin， CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku， leading officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Culture and other relevant departments， as well as CAFA council members， Sadi Jaber， Charges d’ Affaire of the Palestinian Embassy in China; diplomatic envoys of Arab countries to China， representatives of the Office of the League of Arab States to China， overseas Palestinians living in Beijing and representatives of Chinese and Arab media， totaling about 140 people， were present.

Feng Zuoku， Omani Ambassador Abdullah Saleh Al Saadi， Dean of the Diplomatic Corps of Arab Countries to China; Sadi Jaber， and Ghanim Al Shibli， Director of the Representative Office of the League of Arab States to China， delivered speeches.

Feng said China had always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people for restoring their legitimate national rights， and paid great attention to the development of the situation in Palestine and Israel. China was a firm supporter of Palestinian-Israeli peace， and had been making efforts to mediate a cease-fire and promote negotiations. It was willing to unremittingly continue these efforts.

Ambassador Abdullah Saadi commended the Palestinian people on their unremitting efforts to restore their legitimate rights and spoke highly of China’s support. Sadi Jaber expressed appreciation to the Chinese Government and people for their firm support of the Palestinian people’s just cause. Ambassador Ghanim Al Shibli read out the speech of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Nabil Elaraby in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 2014.