China, Arab foreign ministers meet in Beijing

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his counterparts from Egypt, Algeria, Oman, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine and the Union of the Comoros in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.

Wang expressed appreciation for the contribution of various parties in ensuring the success of the sixth ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing on Thursday.

He said Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the conference has pointed the way forward for China-Arab relations.

In his address to the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting, Xi called on China and Arab states to make joint efforts in negotiations, implementation and sharing in building "one belt and one road."

"One belt and one road" refers to the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road," infrastructure and trade networks put forward by Xi during his visit to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013.

"China is ready to work closely with various parties to implement the consensus of the ministerial meeting, to benefit their peoples with their cooperation achievements and boost China-Arab cooperation," Wang said.

Foreign ministers of the seven Arab countries hailed the progress made in the conference. They expressed optimism for Arab-China cooperation, adding that China's proposal on the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road would guide future development of China-Arab ties.