(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Irfan Bukhari
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The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The bilateral trade between China and Qatar has grown from $10.6bn in 2014 to $24.5bn in 2023, an increase of over 130%, Ambassador of China to Qatar H E Cao Xiaolin has said.
“Since 2020, China has consistently been Qatar's largest trading partner and largest export destination for four years,” he added during a press briefing yesterday.
He said that China-Qatar relationship is now at“its best in the history” and has set a“role model” for the state-to-state relationship in the world.
“Over the past 10 years, China-Qatar relations have gone through a golden decade of comprehensive and rapid development. The mutual trust between China and Qatar continues to deepen. President H E Xi Jinping and Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have met six times in the past decade.”
Replying to a question about China's cooperation with the GCC states, especially Qatar, on trade, investment, defence and security, he said that China has long remained the GCC's largest trading partner, with extensive and in-depth cooperation in energy, infrastructure, and mutual investment.“In 2023, bilateral trade between China and the GCC states reached $285.98bn.”
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“As of October this year, China's automobile exports to Qatar increased by 71.6% year-on-year, reaching a value of $442m. The two-way investments between China and Qatar maintain positive momentum, with Chinese companies actively participating in major projects in Qatar, including oil and gas development, ports and airports, telecommunications networks, stadiums, clean energy, and green transportation.”
He said that Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) values its investments in China, and has actively engaged in sectors such as finance, technology, pharmaceuticals, and new energy. "China will continue to provide platforms and facilitation for the QIA and relevant Qatari enterprises to expand their investments in China, for higher-level mutual benefits and win-win outcomes."
He noted that one important aspect of the mutual trust is that China and Qatar have supported each other in exploring independent development paths that suit both countries' national conditions, and in safeguarding their core and major interests.
“China and Qatar have formed a new model of cooperation with energy collaboration as its main pillar, infrastructure development as a key focus, and financial investment and high-tech sectors as emerging growth points, delivering tangible benefits to the people of both countries.”
He noted that the prospects for cooperation in areas such as food security, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence are promising and will further benefit the people of both nations.
Ambassador Xiaolin said that China and Qatar have created the miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.“In achieving the two miracles, the two countries have gained the same or similar experiences, based on which we strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation.
“The people-to-people exchanges between China and Qatar have become increasingly vibrant. More and more Qatari youth are learning Chinese with a genuine love for the Chinese culture. The 2022 World Cup has showcased a gorgeous and modern Qatar to the Chinese audience. Qatar has become a must-visit destination for more and more Chinese tourists. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Qatar reached 93,000 in 2024, marking a 68% increase year-on-year.”
The Ambassador said that China and Qatar share the same or similar views on major international and regional issues.
“The two countries have maintained sound coordination and collaboration in multilateral affairs, such as at the United Nations, particularly in advocating for justice on the Gaza conflict, as we are jointly working to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinian people.”
“Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October last year, Qatar, together with relevant countries, has been actively mediating to achieve a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Qatar successfully facilitated the release of over 100 hostages in November 2023. Although the Gaza conflict is dragging on, the international community highly appreciates Qatar's tireless efforts in pushing for a ceasefire agreement,” Ambassador Cao Xiaolin said.
He said that under China's mediation, 14 Palestinian factions signed the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity in July in Beijing.“The Beijing Declaration has offered a hope to the long-suffering Palestinian people.”
The Ambassador of China to Qatar said that around two weeks ago, the Chinese Foreign Minister H E Wang Yi elaborated on China's view on the current Middle East situation at a joint press conference after his meeting with the visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister in Beijing.
“Wang Yi stressed that the urgent priority is to realise an immediate ceasefire to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. The fundamental way out is to uphold political settlement and resume dialogue and negotiation. The basic principle is to respect the autonomy of nations and avoid external interference.”
He noted that China supports the early realisation of peace within Syria, the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and promoting domestic political process under the“Syrian-led and Syrian-owned” principle, so as to find a nation-rebuilding plan that aligns with the will of the people through inclusive dialogue.
Xiaolin said that China is committed to advancing the Chinese path to modernisation with high-quality development.“From 2013 to 2023, China's economy attained an average annual growth rate of 6.1%. In the first half of 2024, China's GDP reached RMB 61.7 trillion with a year-on-year growth of 5.0%, once again demonstrating to the international community the bright prospects of China's sustained economic growth.”
He further said that China's development will bolster the power of peace, enhance global stability, and contribute to the expansion of worldwide markets.“China remains a key powerhouse of global growth, contributing nearly 30% to the world's overall growth, surpassing the combined contribution of the G7 countries. The big strides towards modernisation of 1.4 billion Chinese people mark a significant progress in human civilisation.”
The Ambassador said that China wants to build a community with a shared future for mankind.“To answer this question, President Xi Jinping put forward the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, which shows the world a bright prospect of peace, security, prosperity, and progress. China's action to realise this vision is to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and the Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI).”
“China and Qatar have become good partners in building a community with a shared future for mankind and implementing the GDI, GSI and GCI. Under the framework of jointly build the BRI and three global initiatives, the practical cooperation between China and Qatar in various fields will harvest greater achievements, benefiting the two peoples.”
He said that China looks forward to collaborating with Qatar to build a community with a shared future for mankind, uphold international fairness and justice, promote regional peace and development, create greater well-beings for our peoples, and usher in a new golden decade of China-Qatar relations!
About Taiwan, the Ambassador said that it is at the core of China's core interests.“Taiwan is not a country. It has always been an inalienable part of China's territory.”
On the Xinjiang-related issue, the Ambassador said that the issues related to Xinjiang are not about human rights.“They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalisation and separatism. Some Western countries have been misinforming the public about Xinjiang and seeking political manipulation in the name of human rights simply to smear China's image and contain its development.”
On Ukraine war, he said China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear.“China calls on all parties to work on ways for de-escalation, observe the three principles for deescalating the situation, namely, no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and not fuelling the flame by any party, and create the conditions for working towards a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
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