Chinese manufacturers have been encouraged to invest and open new factories in Qatar as part of the strong and friendly Qatar-China relationships, the Chinese ambassador Zhou Jian said in Doha on Wednesday.

The new envoy, who began his Qatar assignment almost a month ago, stressed the deep and excellent relations between the two friendly countries.

Addressing his first press conference in Doha, the ambassador pointed out that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met twice during the past six months and agreed on laying the blueprints of strategic co-operation between the two countries.

The envoy stressed that he will work hard with his Qatari counterparts to take the necessary steps to implement the strong political will of the two leaders to take the mutual co-operation to higher levels in all fields.

He said that work is underway to get more top Chinese officials to visit Qatar and meet their Qatari friends to discuss further co-operation in their specific areas.

The CEO of China National Petroleum Corp is set to come to Qatar next month for discussions in the field of energy.

"In future, we will expand our mutual trust. We highly appreciate Qatar's support for China's stand regarding various international issues. Simultaneously, China strongly supports the independence, stability and sovereignty of Qatar," He said.

Zhou explained that China is keen on maintaining stability and security in Qatar and the whole region as Qatar is a LNG supplier to his country.

"In China, we are committed to combating climate change and maintain a cleaner environment. So more such supplies of energy are needed as we reduce our dependency on coal," he said.

The ambassador observed that China is known for its construction innovations and mastery and is ready to share its experience and expertise to Qatar with the ongoing vast development in the country.

Besides, business, investment and political co-operation, the ambassador expressed his determination to enhance people to people relations between the two countries.

Increasing numbers of Chinese people are coming to Qatar for various purposes and they have expressed their admiration and love for the country. Similarly, Qatari people are encouraged to visit China more often.

Now, travel of the citizens of both countries have been made easier as they are both exempted from the requirements of a visa.

The envoy regretted that the GCC crisis is still going on among what he described as brothers, stressing that China has a strong desire for the crisis to be resolved as soon as possible.

"We strongly support the peaceful resolution of this issue within the GCC, and trust that all parties have the wisdom and capabilities to work out a solution while maintaining the sovereignty and independence of each country. China is also ready to help in resolving the issue," he said.

The ambassador was of the view that a solution would also reflect positively on the lives of people, for instance the Chinese travellers coming to the region will have easier access to move from one country to the other.

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