In implementation of the Executive Programme of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, the 11th China-Arab Businessmen Conference and the 9th Investment Seminar are convened on 28-29 April in Hainan Province, People's Republic of China. The events are jointly organized by the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Economic Affairs Sector – Department of Economic Relations), the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Hainan Provincial Government, in collaboration with the Union of Arab Chambers.
The conference is witnessing the participation of a distinguished number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers responsible for economy, trade, and investment from Arab States, alongside several Arab ambassadors, senior officials from both sides, representatives of trade and investment development institutions, research bodies, industrial and commercial organisations, and a large contingent of businessmen. The number of participants approaches 1,000 attendees.
The General Secretariat is participating with a delegation headed by His Excellency Ambassador Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy, head of the Arab League Mission in Beijing, accompanied by Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Mohamed Ben Siddiq, Director of the Department of Asia, Australia, and Arab-Asian Cooperation, and Mr. Ahmed Shaaban from the Department of Economic Relations. The event stands as one of the foremost economic gatherings held within the framework of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, aimed at consolidating economic and investment relations between Arab countries and China, fostering serious and fruitful collaboration between Arab and Chinese businessmen, and contributing to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
During the conference, participants launched several initiatives, notably:
1. Strengthening strategic alignment and supporting corporate cooperation
2. Accelerating the energy transition and advancing green development
3. Promoting joint innovation and nurturing new productive forces
4. Improving and expanding the business environment
5. Creating innovative financing mechanisms to bolster the real economy
6. Advancing industrial integration and cooperation in productive capacities
7. Boosting agricultural cooperation to enhance food security
8. Supporting the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises
9. Enhancing exchanges between Hainan Province and Arab States and deepening Sino-Arab cooperation in openness
10. Strengthening collaboration between trade promotion agencies and developing cooperation mechanisms
11. Enhancing exchanges between legal service institutions and promoting cooperation in mediation and arbitration
The conference is held amidst ongoing efforts by both the Arab and Chinese sides to advance economic and investment cooperation and to further increase the volume of trade exchange. China currently stands as the second-largest trading partner of Arab countries, with economic cooperation witnessing remarkable growth in recent years. Since the establishment of the Forum in 2004, trade exchange between Arab countries and China has surged from $36.4 billion in 2004 to $400 billion by 2020.
The conference activities are also featuring the signing of a number of cooperation and investment agreements between Arab and Chinese businessmen, further strengthening trade and economic ties between the two sides.
