CAIRO, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — The friendship and cooperation relations between China and the Arab world have the foundation and potential for further development in the long run despite temporary impact of the region’s ongoing unrest, said Chinese special envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike here on Sunday.
Some planned exchanges and cooperation projects might be temporarily affected by the turmoil in the region, which first began at the end of last year in Tunisia and then spread to countries like Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, said Wu in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
On the whole, the Arab countries attach great importance to the relations with China and appreciate China’s foreign policies, which means large space for development of mutual relations, he said.
Wu is on a visit to Egypt as part of his Middle East and European tour which also includes Palestine, Israel and France. He held talks with Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Arabi at the pan-Arab body’s headquarters on Sunday.
In his talks with el-Arabi, the two sides discussed how to further promote China-Arab relations within the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum which was established in 2004, in addition to the exchange of views on the regional situation. Wu also expressed China’s support for the just course of the Arab people.
Over the past seven years, the forum has achieved remarkable development and laid solid foundation for the development of mutual relations, he said.
Taking into consideration the new circumstances, the two sides should explored how to enrich the forum to achieve more fruits, he said.
As regards the current Mideast situation, Wu said China respected the will and choice of the people in the turmoil-hit countries. But peaceful means and consultations should be adopted to avoid armed conflicts and violence which has led to huge losses, he said.
China is against the foreign interference with the domestic affairs of other countries and believes that people have the ability and wisdom to deal with their own issues, he added.
The key challenge for Libya is to realize a peaceful and stable transition of power and reduce the losses of lives of people and property as well as infrastructure facilities, Wu said.
The rebuilding of Libya faces some challenges and needs the support of international community. China has maintained smooth contacts with the opposition’s National Transitional Council and supported the United Nations and international community to play an important role in the stability and reconstruction of Libya. China itself is also willing to make some contributions in this respect, he said.
Some Chinese companies in Libya suffered big losses because of the turmoil in Libya. Wu suggested that Chinese companies should raise their awareness of risks to ensure their interests with the basic principle of win-win cooperation, he added.
Wu said Egypt is an important country in the region and has great potential in many fields in cooperation with China.
The Chinese government and people both value the relations with Egypt. Both sides should push forward cooperation in fields like politics and economy, and coordination in regional and international affairs, he said.
On the Palestinian issue, Wu said the regional changes should not let the issue be ignored.
China believes the Palestinian issue be handled on the basis of a two-state solution and through negotiations which can not be replaced by seeking U.N. recognition on an independent Palestine state, stressing the talks is the fundamental way leading to the solution to the Palestinian issue, Wu said.
China supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and with full sovereignty, according to the envoy.
Source: Xinhuanet