With the participation of His Highness the Amir, three important summits begin in Riyadh today

Three important summits will be held in Riyadh on Friday, namely the 43rd session of the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), the Riyadh-Chinese Gulf Summit for Cooperation and Development, and the Riyadh-Chinese Arab Summit for Cooperation and Development.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani chairs the delegation of Qatar to the three summits which are of great Arab and international interest.
In preparation for the GCC Summit, Qatar participated last Wednesday in the 154th preparatory ministerial meeting of the GCC Supreme Council in its 43rd session at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In the meeting, Qatar's delegation was headed by HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. During the meeting, the draft agenda was approved, the items on the agenda were discussed and draft decisions and recommendations were adopted.
Regarding the Riyadh-Chinese Gulf Summit which will be held with the participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, His Highness Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al-Saud stressed that his country is looking forward to working with China and the brothers in the GCC states and Arab countries through the three summits hosted by Riyadh to intensify cooperation in the political, economic, social and developmental fields in order to achieve the aspirations of our countries and peoples towards greater security, stability, well-being and prosperity for all.
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the GCC countries as important partners for China and said that relations between China and the GCC countries have witnessed comprehensive, rapid and profound growth over the past 41 years, with fruitful cooperation covering the fields of economy, trade, energy, financial services, investment, high-tech, aerospace, language and culture, which set the pace of cooperation between China and the Middle East countries.
The ministry spokeswoman said that during the summit, the Chinese president will hold in-depth exchanges of views with leaders of the participating countries on China-GCC relations and issues of common concern, adding that the summit will continue to enhance China's traditional friendship with the GCC countries and enriching the strategic content of relations and taking them to a new level.
In a joint statement last January, the two sides expressed their satisfaction with the development of the Gulf-Chinese relations and affirmed that strengthening Chinese-Gulf cooperation is in line with the basic and long-term interests of both sides, and they agreed on the need to establish strategic partnership relations between them as soon as possible. They also agreed to sign the joint action plan for the strategic dialogue between the two parties between the years 2022-2025 in order to achieve new horizons and expand areas of cooperation between the two sides. They stressed the need to complete negotiations on the free trade agreement between the Cooperation Council and China and to establish a free trade area between them.
The GCC countries are a geographical axis linking Asia, Africa and Europe for their prominent geographical advantage, and are a source of energy that feeds the global economy because they are rich with energy resources, where the oil and gas reserves constitute 30% and 20% of the world's reserves respectively. GCC countries are also considered a fertile ground for the development of modern and advanced technology industries because of their pioneering and initiative spirit, and China is the largest trading partner of the GCC and the largest importer of its petrochemical products. The volume of trade exchange between the two sides exceeded USD 230 billion and imports of crude oil from the GCC countries exceeded the threshold of 200 million tons in 2021.
The Riyadh Chinese-Arab Summit for Cooperation and Development is an important milestone in the strategic partnership between the two sides and an additional step to support cooperation between them in all fields in order to achieve common interests for the two sides. The summit also reflects the keenness of the Arab and Chinese leaderships to develop aspects of joint cooperation with China as the second largest economy in the world. It symbolises the entry of the Arab-Chinese friendship into a new stage.
Arab countries are important partners for China in advancing steadily on the path of development, strengthening solidarity and cooperation among developing countries and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Cooperation between the Arab countries and China in all fields has evolved rapidly and comprehensively, as the Arab countries have become the most important energy suppliers and economic and trade cooperation partners for China, while the Arab and Chinese sides are jointly implementing the "Belt and Road" action plan in various fields, including the field of technology, within the framework of the Arab-Chinese technological partnership to take full advantage of the Chinese technological advantages and to employ the catalytic role of advanced and modern technology.
The Arab countries and China enjoy a high degree of economically complementary advantages, as the volume of trade exchange between the Arab countries and China increased from 1970 to 2010 by more than 620 times, and Chinese oil imports from Arab countries increased by about 30 times from the beginning of the nineties to 2010.
In 2021, mutual direct investment stocks between the Arab and Chinese sides amounted to $27 billion, and the volume of trade exchange between the two sides amounted to $330.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, the volume of trade exchange between the two sides reached $319 billion and $295 million, an increase of 35.28% over what it was in the same period last year, and is close to the total volume in 2021.
The Arab and Chinese sides established various mechanisms for human and cultural communication within the framework of the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum, and China has been making unremitting efforts for peace and stability in the Middle East. China also participates constructively in the Palestinian issue and in the hot issues of Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and other countries to advance efforts to find solutions acceptable to all parties through comprehensive political dialogue.
The Arab countries and China have joined forces in the spirit of one team since the outbreak of the emerging coronavirus pandemic and have resulted in effective cooperation in the areas of vaccine development and use, prevention and joint control, and the sharing of experiences and therapeutic drugs.
Although they are geographically far apart, China and the Arab world have a long history of friendly exchanges along the ancient Silk Road, which makes them natural partners for cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of the two sides began trading along the ancient Silk Road and forged a friendship that has stood the test of time and is still lively today.
With the world facing a set of unprecedented challenges, including the ongoing epidemic, the economic slowdown more severe than expected and the energy and food crises, and according to media reports in Beijing, it is expected that China and the Arab world, giving their increasing influence in the global arena, will give way to the advantages of each of them and play a greater role in international affairs. The reports said the Chinese side hopes that the Arab and Chinese sides will make joint efforts to stabilise industrialisation chains, maintain global energy security, address a series of pressing issues including poverty, terrorism and climate change, as well as maintain global stability.