BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from China and
Arab countries will discuss key cooperation projects and map out fields for
future cooperation during a China-Arab summit in Beijing later this month,
according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Second Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab
Cooperation Forum is to be held in Beijing on May 31 and June 1.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and counterparts
from 22 Arab countries or their representatives and the Arab League (AL) will
attend the meeting, Zhai Jun, the director general of the foreign ministry's
Asian and African division, said Wednesday.
"It will be the first time for the forum to hold its
ministerial meeting in China since it was founded in 2004," said Zhai.
It was also for the first time for foreign ministers
of all Arab countries to get together outside the Middle East, he added.
He confirmed that Foreign Minister Mahmud al-Zahar of
Palestine would also attend the meeting.
Li would co-host the meeting with Foreign Minister of
the United Arab Emirates Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose country holds
the AL rotating presidency, and AL Secretary General Amr Moussa.
The meeting would focus on developing the new
China-Arab partnership, said Zhai. Senior Chinese leaders would meet with the
foreign delegations on the sidelines of the meeting.
Two documents would be signed at the end of the
meeting including a communique and working plans for the next two years, Zhai
said.
Energy cooperation constituted an important part of
China-Arab cooperation, he acknowledged. China imported 52 million tons of crude
oil from Arab countries last year and trade volume with the Arab world totaled
51.3 billion dollars last year, he said.
"However, China-Arab cooperation is not confined to
the oil fields," he added.
China and the Arab countries had cooperated in trade,
investment, culture, environment and other fields, he said. Last year, the two
sides conducted an entrepreneurship forum, investment seminar and symposium on
China-Arab civilizations. The two sides also launched a cooperative training
program on human resources. Enditem
