China and the League of Arab States are working together amid intensifying major-country competition

Since the founding of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, a dialogue initiative jointly set up by China and the League of Arab States in 2004, China-Arab relations have been scaling new heights.

As important players of the Global South, China and the Arab States have been strengthening their ties, consolidating cooperation and jointly fostering a closer China-Arab community with a shared future, amid the intensifying competition between the world's major countries.

Western powers led by the United States are sparing no efforts to contain and suppress the rise of emerging powers such as China in order to maintain the old international order dominated by them. Over the past few years, they have put forward measures against or set up barriers to the global public goods proposed by China, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Against the backdrop of less interference from the US in the region in recent years, Arab countries are focusing on domestic development, and have put forward their respective development strategies and chosen cooperation partners according to their own needs and will, and there has been an increasingly noticeable trend of Arab countries "looking East".

China and the LAS continue to deepen and advance their friendly and cooperative relations.

Long dissatisfied with the old unfair and unreasonable international order, countries in the Global South have an increasingly strong demand for strategic autonomy and they are promoting the establishment of a new international order that's more equitable and reasonable. As important members of the Global South, Arab countries have been increasingly speaking with their own voice according to their own national interests in recent years.

For long, the US' rampant use of group politics and bloc confrontation has wreaked havoc on the global governance system, impeded the global economic growth, and hindered the development of countries of the Global South. Most Arab countries have been victims of this. Unwilling to be continually mired in confrontations and conflicts, they have started to focus on domestic development, wishing to pursue peace and promote stability through development.

China has constantly advocated that countries in the Global South focus on development and forge closer cooperation. Such concepts have been highly appreciated by Arab countries. China's high-speed development over the past years and dazzling achievements have made it a leader of the Global South. On bilateral and multilateral occasions, Arab countries have repeatedly expressed their wish to learn from China's development experience and strengthen cooperation with China.

In foreign policy, China has always observed such principles as mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-interference in internal affairs, and peaceful coexistence. In recent years, China has successfully promoted peace talks and brokered peace deals in the Middle East, which has been highly appreciated by regional countries.

Meanwhile, China has led or vigorously participated in international or regional organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, which are all aimed at strengthening unity and cooperation among the Global South and jointly enhancing the collective strength and voice of the Global South. These organizations have growing appeal to Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have become dialogue partners of the SCO; while Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates became members of BRICS on Jan 1. Many other Arab countries are also actively applying to join these organizations.

China has been attaching greater and greater importance to its relations with the LAS. Over the past 10 years, Chinese leaders and senior officials have visited the LAS headquarters and held consultations with the LAS secretary-general and people concerned on the Middle East situation and issues of common concern to both sides. On Jan 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the LAS headquarters, making the LAS the first regional organization visited by the Chinese foreign minister in 2024, which is solid evidence that China attaches great importance to China-LAS cooperation.

Driven by efforts from both sides, China-LAS friendly cooperation has been deepening. In December 2022, China and the LAS jointly held the First China-Arab States Summit, which has significantly elevated China's relations with LAS member states. Furthermore, some LAS member states that are Western allies have begun vigorously developing relations with China. Also in December 2022, the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit was held. Both sides expressed their wish to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The China-proposed BRI has covered all of the 22 member states of the LAS, which was also the first regional organization to sign a joint statement with China aimed at further implementing the Global Civilization Initiative. Alongside the enriched content of their cooperation and ever-expanding areas of cooperation, China and the LAS have achieved institutionalized exchanges and cooperation in many areas.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and over the past two decades, the forum has become a "prestige brand "for China-Arab collective cooperation. Foreign Minister Wang met with LAS Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in January, with both sides pledging to strengthen communication and coordination to better prepare for and hold the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum this year, so as to open up new prospects and inject new impetus into China-Arab relations.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of China's proposal to jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future and invitation to the Arab world to participate in the BRI.Friendly and cooperative relations between China and the LAS are both an important component of South-South cooperation and a critical boost for greater collective strength of the Global South.

The author is an associate researcher of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn