Leaders of friendship bodies of China and Arab countries meet online,and issue a joint declaration

Xiong Liang

O n July 6， leaders of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， the ChinaArab Friendship Association and the Association of Arab-Chinese Friendship Societies hosted a virtual meeting themed “People-to-people exchanges boost China-Arab friendly cooperation in post-pandemic era”. After the meeting， the leaders issued a joint declaration of friendship organizations from China and Arab countries on safeguarding world equity and justice， promoting common prosperity and opposing the politicization of the coronavirus. The declaration called on the international community to unite and help each other to overcome difficulties， safeguard world equity and justice and promote common development and prosperity.

Arken Imirbaki， vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of Chinas National Peoples Congress and president of the CAFA， delivered a video speech. Lin Songtian， president of the CPAFFC； Ali Yousif， secretary-general of the Association of Arab-Chinese Friendship Societies； leaders of 12 Arab friendship organizations； and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the League of Arab States attended and delivered speeches. The meeting was presided over by Lin Yi， vice-president of the CPAFFC.

Arken noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had initiated the idea of building a China-Arab community with a shared future at the 6th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in 2014 and proposed that China and Arab countries jointly build the Belt and Road. The initiative pointed the way for China-Arab cooperation and received a positive response from the Arab side， Arken said.

Arken emphasized that in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19， China and Arab countries have helped each other to overcome difficulties and taken practical actions to fulfill their solemn commitment to building a China-Arab community with a shared future. We firmly oppose the politicization and labeling of the novel coronavirus and the practice of applying dual standards in studying its origins. We are willing to work with countries around the world， including Arab countries， to jointly tackle the common challenges faced by mankind.

Arken noted that this year marks the centennial of the Communist Party of China. China has embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and has fully implemented the new concept of innovative， coordinated， green， open and shared development. It is also committed to a higher level of opening up and high-quality development and will provide new opportunities and a bright future for mutually beneficial ChinaArab cooperation and common development.

Lin Songtian noted that COVID-19 continues to spread globally， seriously threatening the lives， health and safety of the people and order of society. The novel coronavirus is a global challenge， he said， adding that only with solidarity and cooperation will the international community be able to conquer the pandemic. Chinas successful practice has proved that the novel coronavirus can be prevented and is controllable. Politicizing its origins will not help reveal the truth scientifically. Worse still， it will discourage countries from working together to fight the pandemic.

Lin said that China and Arab countries are not afraid of the hegemony of the United States and other Western powers. We have been supporting each other， firmly defending principles of the Charter of the United Nations， and jointly safeguarding multilateralism， equity and justice， and we have set a good example of SouthSouth cooperation. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council， China has always firmly safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests and common interests of Arab countries. The Arab countries have always given China valuable and firm support on issues including Taiwan， Tibet， Xinjiang， the South China Sea and human rights， and firmly safeguarded world fairness， justice and the common interests of developing countries.

Lin said China and Arab share the same or similar cultural values， have the same or consistent positions on maintaining the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on international law. They firmly uphold principles of the Charter of the United Nations， multilateralism， international equity and justice and advocate respect for national sovereignty， independence， national dignity and the independent choice of the people of all countries to take a development path based on their national conditions. At the same time， they firmly oppose any form of hegemonism and power politics， and any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of human rights.

Leaders of the Arab friendship organizations warmly expressed congratulations on the centennial of the CPC and praised China for the historic achievements it has made under the leadership of the CPC. They said Chinas success in finding its own way of development is significant and sets a good example for other developing countries.

The Arab participants in the online meeting unanimously expressed appreciation for Chinas successful practice of putting people and life first， and for respecting science in the fight against COVID-19. They were proud of the solidarity and mutual assistance of both sides in the pandemic and the vivid interpretation of a ChinaArab community with a shared future. They said a “political virus” can not eliminate the coronavirus. Politicizing the origins of the novel coronavirus is the embodiment of hegemonism， which is unpopular and not conducive to the unity of the international community in the global effort to overcome the pandemic.

Also， the Arab participants said， the Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most important public products in the 21st century and has won support from Arab countries. It is of great significance in promoting win-win cooperation and common development， they said， adding that the Arab side looks forward to working closely with China to utilize people-to-people connections in pursuit of high-quality development and promoting integrated development and people-to-people connectivity.

The two sides agreed that more exchanges， mutual learning， harmony and common prosperity between the two civilizations help to safeguard world peace and promote common development. Nongovernmental organizations and people of vision should continue their dialogues on civilization， deepen mutually beneficial cooperation， jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future and make new and greater contributions to the peace and development of mankind.

All the Chinese and Arab participants agreed that the ChinaArab Friendship Conference was an important platform for people-topeople exchanges under the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and plays an important role in the deepening of the traditional friendship and promoting people-topeople connectivity. They welcomed Qatars hosting of the 6th China-Arab Friendship Conference this year， and expressed hope that the Conference will contribute more to promoting China-Arab solidarity， cooperation and common development.

Joint Declaration by leaders of friendship organizations from China and Arab countries on safeguarding world equity and justice， promoting common prosperity and opposing the politicization of the novel coronavirus. The full text follows.

We， leaders of friendship organizations from China and Arab countries， and the Association of Arab-Chinese Friendship Societies and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the League of Arab States， held an online meeting on July 6 themed “People-topeople exchanges boost China-Arab friendly cooperation in post-pandemic era”. We carried out candid， friendly and in-depth exchanges of ideas on issues of common concern and interest， reached consensus and agreed that the voice of justice should be heard. Solidarity and mutual assistance should prevail in the international community. We should jointly overcome difficulties， safeguard world equity and justice and promote common development and prosperity.

We agree that COVID-19 is still raging globally， seriously threatening the lives， health and safety of people around the world. The threat is currently menacing humankind indiscriminately. The “political virus”cannot eliminate the coronavirus. Politicizing the traceability of the novel coronavirus will not help reveal the truth. Worse still， it prevents countries from working together to fight the pandemic.

We agree that mankind is a community with a shared future and that no country or individual can win the battle against COVID-19 alone. Only by strengthening their solidarity and cooperation can the international community overcome the pandemic at an early date and restore the normal order of life and work.

We all appreciate Chinas successful practice of the concept of putting people and life first， respecting science in the fight against COVID-19， and we highly praise China for providing generous assistance and support such as masks， ventilators and vaccines to countries in need， especially Arab countries， and sharing its experiences in fighting the pandemic.

We highly appreciate China and the WHO in their joint research on novel coronavirus tracing， which has achieved objective， scientific and authoritative results. We resolutely oppose any moves of politicization and stigmatization with regard to the pandemic， as well as vaccine racism.

We call on scientists all over the world to unite， uphold the principles of equity， justice， transparency and science， carry out a global study on the origins of the novel coronavirus， make due contributions to the victory over the virus， restore life and work at an early date and firmly safeguard human conscience， health and safety.

We agree that more exchanges， mutual learning， harmony and common prosperity between the Chinese and Arab civilizations can help safeguard world peace and promote common development. Nongovernmental organizations and people of vision should continue their dialogues on civilization， deepen mutually beneficial cooperation， jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future and make new and greater contributions to the peace and development of mankind.

We highly appreciate the unremitting efforts and great sacrifices made by the governments and people of Arab countries to safeguard world peace， equity and justice and to fight hegemonism and unilateralism. We speak highly of the effective cooperation between China and the Arab world in COVID-19 prevention and control to safeguard the common interests of the people of both sides.

We firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people seeking to restore their legitimate rights， the twostate solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with a borderline drawn in 1967， with East Jerusalem as the capital， and strive to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East. We respect the unification of China and that of Arab countries and oppose any form of separatism.

We agree that the Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most important public products of the 21st century. It is deeply supported by Arab countries and is of significant importance for promoting win-win cooperation and common development. We are willing to work together to promote friendly people-topeople exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between both sidesyouth organizations， think tanks， media， local governments and enterprises. We will play a more active role in promoting people-to-people connectivity and in building the Belt and Road to realize common development.

We warmly congratulate China on the centennial of the Communist Party of China and commend China for its historic achievements made under the leadership of the CPC. Chinas success in development， based on its national conditions， is worth learning by other developing countries.

We all agree that the China-Arab Friendship Conference is an important platform for people-to-people exchanges under the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and plays an important role in deepening the traditional friendship between the two sides and promoting peopleto-people connectivity. We welcome Qatars holding of the 6th China-Arab Friendship Conference and hope the conference will contribute more to promoting China-Arab solidarity， cooperation and common development.

All the participants of the meeting，

July 6， 2021