(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
QNA
Doha: Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the State of Qatar H E Cao Xiaolin emphasised his country's great interest in developing relations with Qatar and its readiness to cooperate with the country in enhancing the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) after officially becoming a Dialogue Partner of the SCO in 2022.
This comes as China prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the SCO following the SCO Summit held on July 3 and 4, 2024, in Kazakhstan.
“Qatar holds significant influence in the Arab world and is an important member of numerous international organisations, actively contributing to regional stability and friendly cooperation among nations. In September 2022, Qatar officially became a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is warmly welcomed by China,” the Ambassador said in an exclusive interview, adding that Qatar has actively engaged in SCO-related activities.
China looks forward to working with Qatar to enhance its role in the SCO based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, respect for diverse civilisations, pursuit of common development, and strive for international and regional peace and development, he added.
Regarding the development of relations between Beijing and Doha, the Chinese Ambassador emphasised China's great interest in strengthening ties with Qatar, which is now“its best in history,” since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1988. These ties were further strengthened with the official visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to China in November 2014, during which H H the Amir and H E President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping chaired an official talks session that resulted in the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Qatar.
“China stands ready to expand and deepen exchanges and cooperation with Qatar in various areas, and to work together to build the next 'golden decade' of the China-Qatar strategic partnership, so as to make positive contributions to building a China-Arab community with a shared future,” the Ambassador said.
In regard to China's view of Qatar's success in mediating conflicts in numerous regions worldwide, he said,“Over the past three decades, Qatar has successfully mediated dozens of conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, contributing to the de-escalation of tensions, effective settlement of conflicts, and facilitating family reunions for displaced individuals. These efforts have received high praises from the international community, and mediation diplomacy has become a shining hallmark of Qatar on the global stage.”
On the plans for enhancing Qatari-Chinese economic, trade, and investment cooperation, the Ambassador affirmed China's wishes to strengthen the synergy between both countries development strategies, promote win-win cooperation with shared benefits to a higher level, and enhance the high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation to make our countries good partners in pursuing our respective national development paths.
Over the past decade, the bilateral trade volume between China and Qatar has grown from $10.6bn in 2014 to $24.5bn in 2023, highlighting the strong complementarity and enormous potential of their trade and economic cooperation, he explained.
Thanks to the increasing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese Ambassador noted that Qatar has become the world's largest supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to China, with exports reaching nearly 17 million tons in 2023. Meanwhile, China has become Qatar's largest LNG importer since 2020.
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