As the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit brought the leaders of China 
and the GCC countries together for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 
traditional friendship between the two sides has been carried forward and the 
strategicness of the relations has been further enriched.

China and the GCC countries are natural partners for cooperation, said Chinese 
President Xi Jinping on Friday in his speech at the summit, calling on the two 
sides to be partners in promoting unity, development, security and 
civilizations.

The summit decided to establish and strengthen the strategic partnership 
between China and the GCC countries.

Enriching strategicness of China-GCC relations

Founded in 1981, the GCC has six member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, 
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The GCC countries are 
important partners for China in its cooperation with the Middle East. China has 
maintained contact with the GCC ever since its establishment. 

In his speech, Xi hailed the achievements made between the two sides during the 
past years, saying that China and the GCC countries should continue the 
traditional friendship and take the strategic partnership as an opportunity to 
enrich the strategic connotation of China-GCC relations.

He said the two sides should be partners in promoting unity, strengthen 
political mutual trust and firmly support each other's core interests.

The two sides should synergize development strategies, build security together 
and learn from each other's fine cultural achievements, he added.

Promoting cooperation in future

The Chinese president proposed five major areas for cooperation between China 
and the GCC countries in the next three to five years: energy, finance and 
investment, innovation and new technologies, aerospace, and language and 
cultures.

China will continue to import more crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the 
GCC countries, establish a working mechanism for bilateral investment and 
economic cooperation and deepen digital currency cooperation, as well as build 
a big data and cloud computing center with the GCC countries, according to the 
president.

According to data from China's General Administration of Customs, China remains 
the GCC's largest trading partner and largest export market for petrochemical 
products. Bilateral trade exceeded $230 billion in 2021, when Chinese fossil 
fuel imports from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE reached $44.9 billion, $25.4 
billion and $21.3 billion, respectively.

In recent years, the friendly relations between the two sides have consistently 
developed. On September 19, for instance, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign 
Minister Wang Yi met with the GCC foreign ministers as a group on the sidelines 
of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During the meeting, the two 
sides agreed to "make joint efforts to reach common ground on the China-GCC 
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at an early date, so as to release positive signals 
and to help each other achieve better development." 

Leaders from other GCC countries spoke highly of GCC-China relations and the 
summit, saying that they believe the first summit is a grand gathering in the 
history of GCC-China relations and an important milestone. 

The GCC countries firmly support the one-China principle and are ready to work 
with China to implement the outcomes of the summit, deepen bilateral 
cooperation in key areas and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

The summit also issued a joint statement and adopted the 2023-2027 action plan 
for the strategic dialogue between China and the GCC countries.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-09/Xi-Jinping-says-China-GCC-states-natural-partners-for-cooperation-1fCZREQ2L1m/index.html


source CGTN