Will China-Arab States Cooperation Forum summit help boost Beijing’s ties with Mideast?

AL MONITOR

Over the past two decades, Beijing has been engaging with Arab countries through the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) mechanism. The CASCF includes all the Arab League countries, and foreign ministers from its member states have met every two years since it was established in 2004.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the forum’s establishment, the 10th session of the ministerial meeting of the forum is due to be held in Beijing on May 30.

Calling for closer China-Arab ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed support for the people of Palestine in a meeting last week with the new director of the Arab League’s Beijing office, Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy. In response, Fahmy affirmed the Arab League’s commitment to the “One China" policy, which states that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory.

At a recent diplomatic gathering in Beijing, Li Chen, the ambassador for CASCF affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said next month’s meeting will center on discussing and then adopting three main documents: the "Beijing Declaration,” the "Joint Statement on the Palestinian Issue” and the "Executive Program of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum between 2024 and 2026.”

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