I. You have concluded your first visit to five countries, namely, Palestine, Israel, Algeria, Morocco
and Saudi Arabia. What is the purpose of this visit? How do you evaluate the outcome of this visit?
Wang Yi: This is my very first visit to the Middle East region as the foreign minister of China's new government. The trip has three goals: namely, to carry forward friendly relations; to deepen existing cooperation; and to promote peace talks.
China and the Arab states enjoy time-honored ties of friendship, forged by the 2,000-year old Silk Road. In modern times, China has firmly supported Arab states in their cause to win national independence and liberation. China is committed to carrying forward this traditional friendship. My Middle East trip has achieved this goal completely, as I have felt for myself the profound goodwill of the Arab states and their peoples for China and the Chinese people.
China works hard to deepen its cooperation with the countries in the region for mutual benefit. Last year, two-way trade reached nearly $300 billion, with China becoming the top trading partner of many Arab states. According to rough statistics, China's accumulated contractual value in the region totaled $120 billion, including a substantial input in infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and factories. More recently, China's direct investment in the region has grown rapidly. Already standing at $10 billion in accumulative terms, it keeps increasing with an incredible speed.
The Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee held not long ago, which made important arrangements on the comprehensive deepening of reform and opening-up, will bring about fresh and important opportunities for the cooperation between China and the countries in the region. China plans to develop a Silk Road economic belt that spans the Eurasia continent and a maritime Silk Road that links the Pacific with the Indian Ocean. We can see on a map that the two Silk Roads will cross in the Middle East region, which spells excellent opportunities and bright prospects for common development and common prosperity for China and the region's countries. During the visit, I discussed many new ideas and new plans of cooperation with Arab leaders. China is ready to share its experience in high-speed rail development with any country and participate in national rail network.
Source: ChinaDaily
