BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are natural partners for China in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, and both sides should enhance cooperation to seek new development, said Zhang Ming, a vice minister of China’s Foreign Ministry.
Zhang made the remarks at a think tank summit on economic cooperation between China and the Gulf countries under the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing on Dec. 17.
Zhang said the two sides could deepen cooperation in five areas.
First, the two sides should jointly advocate the concept of promoting peace through development. Development is in the best interest of the Gulf countries and also their common interest, while peace is a mutual goal pursued by all.
Second, they should promote capacity cooperation on the basis of connectivity. Zhang suggested both sides draft plans to link the Belt and Road Initiative with the transformation plan of the Gulf countries, focusing on key areas and key projects such as ports, logistics and industrial parks.
Third, a new platform of cooperation should be built to foster growth momentum. It is particularly important to promote creative cooperation in the fields of financing and standardization as against the backdrop of fiercer competition in development, said the vice minister.
The fourth area is to push forward the construction of China-GCC free trade zone. Zhang said construction of the free trade zone is vital to long lasting cooperation between the two sides, adding the sooner it is in place, the quicker both sides will benefit.
Last, the two sides should enhance cultural exchanges so as to promote people-to-people connectivity. Zhang suggested China and Gulf countries deepen cooperation in areas such as culture, education, media and sports.
In 2015, the trade value between China and GCC reached 136.8 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 70 percent of the total value of trade between China and Arab countries. By the end of 2015, the two sides had signed 102.8 billion dollars worth of labor contracts, with non-financial project investment between the two sides at 8.6 billion dollars.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Enditem (Edited by Yang Qi, kateqiyang@xinhua.org)
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